Just Being Neighborly
by mypseudonym
Summary: Several years after graduation, Hermione has a stable life- a great boyfriend, a great job, and a brand new house. Little does she know how things will be shaken up. HG/RW, then HG/SS
1. Chapter 1

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 1

AN- I don't have a firm idea of where this is going, so feel free to review with things you liked/ didn't like and any ideas you have. I'll take it all into consideration.

Chapter 1-Stretching the Wings

She set the last box down in the living room and sighed happily. Her own home, finally! Hermione Granger had been working, saving and investing in the eight years since her Hogwarts graduation. Now she had a great career, an impressive nest egg, her own home and a steady boyfriend. Speaking of whom, Ron was currently lounging on a stack of boxes in the corner, sipping water and trying to catch his breath. He wordlessly handed Hermione a full bottle of ice-cold water.

"Thanks." Hermione said, accepting the drink. She unscrewed the cap and took a big drink before wiping the sweat from her forehead. It wasn't even June yet, and the weather was already quite warm. August would probably be brutal.

The two spent the rest of the day unpacking Hermione's belongings into her new row house. In all honesty, she didn't have enough things to fill the four-bedroom house. She took the largest of the bedrooms for her own use. The second largest would be the guest room. The third bedroom she outfitted with bookshelves wall to wall and floor to ceiling. It would be her library and home office. It was really kind of a relief to have a separate space allotted for this. In her last few apartments, everything had been smashed together in the living room. It was a bit uncomfortable to have her refuge and clutter on display for any guest. The smallest bedroom she closed up; there wasn't any need for it at this point.

Ron left when all of the boxes were magically moved to their appropriate rooms. He couldn't help much with unpacking, and Molly was expecting him back at the Burrow. Ron was busy playing professional Quidditch for most of the year, traveling the world with his teammates. As a result, he didn't have a permanent home in England yet. When the team was on breaks, he would stay with his parents. His and Hermione's relationship wasn't to the point yet that either of them wanted to live together, so it just made things easier if he stayed at home. The down-side was that Molly had trouble remembering that her youngest son was twenty-five years old and didn't really need to be coddled. Rather than rock the boat and destroy his living arrangements, Ron just abided by her rules for the month or two that he was in England.

Hermione unpacked most of her bedroom first, before she walked to the local bakery to buy something for dinner. The shopkeeper was very friendly, so they ended up chatting for a few moments before Hermione left. Monty liked to know all the people in the neighborhood. He told Hermione that the neighborhood was a good one, but some of her neighbors were a little strange. When pressed, he wouldn't divulge any more information, saying she would have to figure that out for herself. Monty gave her a free loaf of bread as a 'Welcome to the neighborhood' gift. Hermione, in turn, assured him that she would be back in a day or two when she was ready to stock her kitchen.

The evening was beautiful, so Hermione decided to eat her dinner out on the front porch. She stopped inside briefly to put down her bread and get a glass of cool water and an apple. After dinner, Hermione unpacked items in the kitchen for an hour or so before it was time to get ready for bed.

She decided that a post-moving shower was one of the best in existence. She felt so refreshed. Hermione stopped off in the library to pick up a book from one of the boxes before she curled up in bed. The only downside, she reflected, was the quiet. The house to one side of hers appeared to be vacant though it was not for sale. On the other side, it looked as though chaos ruled, but the house was still very quiet.

The next morning, after a breakfast of tea and toast, Hermione tackled the living room. Without all of her books, it was mostly furniture and photos, so it didn't take very long. The hardest part was arranging the couch and chairs so that they best filled the room. The shelves she decorated with smaller pictures and a few knick-knacks she had picked up in her travels. Her favorite souvenir was too large to fit on a shelf, though. The ornate, hand-made Swiss cuckoo clock hung on the wall near the fireplace. She stayed in the room until the hour just to make sure that the clock was still calibrated correctly. Ron had mocked her mercilessly for the care that went into packing that beautiful clock, but she had to make absolutely sure that it was safe.

Ron thought it was strange that her most prized possession was that silly clock, while her most valuable possession was packed away in a box that went straight onto her closet shelf. Hermione didn't display her Order of Merlin. She recognized that it was meant to honor her for everything that she had done for the war effort, but it only served to remind her of those that had been lost and all the things that she wasn't able to do. As a result, it was packed away with the other war artifacts that she looked at one day a year.

Two days later, Hermione was completely unpacked. She invited Ginny Potter, née Weasley, to be her first real visitor. Harry was conducting some Auror training courses in the Australian Outback, so Ginny had volunteered to watch Hermione's cat, Holmes, while she got settled in. Now that the unpacking was finished, it was time for Holmes to come home. Hermione had missed her feline companion during all the hours she had been alone in the house. Holmes found her about six months after Crookshanks had passed away. Hermione had just started to think about looking for a new familiar. She had been on a business trip to Dublin when the cat started following her. After having been followed by the same tabby cat all day, Hermione recognized him as her new familiar and took him home with her that evening. She names the cat Holmes because he had a knack with snooping and weaseling his way into things. Turned out, he was almost as good a judge of character as Crooks was, and he wasn't even part Kneazle! Holmes seemed to love Ginny almost as much as he loved Hermione, which was part of why she was the favorite cat-sitter. He tolerated Harry. They were almost friends after the last time Hermione had needed to leave him at the Potters, but, try as she might, Hermione could not get Holmes to form any kind of bond with Ron. When George Weasley was around, Holmes would always hide. The cat also was not too fond of children, though he had good reason for that one. Hermione would not have blamed him at all if Holmes had scratched young Persephone Weasley, Percy's eldest daughter, after she spent the day terrorizing him and pulling his tail. Holmes was nonviolent though; he just tried to make himself scarce when children were around.

At one o'clock on the dot, the bell at Hermione's house sounded. It was Ginny with Holmes. Hermione rushed to the door to let them in. She scratched Holmes under his chin before setting him down on the floor. Ginny was bad about holding and carrying animals too much. It was entirely possible that Holmes hadn't been on his feet in the last few days. Sure enough the cat stretched, wound around her legs a few times, and walked off into the house. Hermione hugged Ginny and took her on a guided tour of the house.

Ginny was particularly fond of the dining room. It was a long, dark green room that Hermione had outfitted with a sizeable mahogany table. It reminded her a little of Order meetings in the kitchen at Grimmauld Place, but her dining room was just different enough. Ginny loved the shine on the new table and the sheer masculinity and power about the room. Hermione's house was not full of dainty furniture or flower-print. It was just so soothing still. Hermione thought the dining room felt a little like a cave, but it was a good cave. Hermione and Ginny ended up lounging in the living room while Holmes fell asleep on the windowsill in the library.

"Hermione, I just can't get over how beautiful your house is!" Ginny gushed.

"I just can't believe I bought a house. It's such a big step." she replied.

"Well, we're getting older now, so it's time to start taking big steps. Mum keeps asking me if I'm pregnant. Harry and I have been married for five years now, and she says it's well past time for me to be pregnant." Ginny said nervously.

"Ginny that's such a big step. Are you two ready to start a family?" Hermione asked.

"I don't think we're ready yet. I mean, Harry travels a lot for work, and I just don't know if I want to have that responsibility right now. Is that just horrible?"

"No, that's not horrible at all. You're only twenty-four, and Harry's only twenty-five. You've got a solid decade of childbearing years in front of you before it even begins to become dangerous. Women are waiting longer and longer these days to start their families, and you've got plenty of time. Plus, a baby is a big responsibility to take on if you aren't positive that you're ready." Hermione replied.

"How will I know when I'm ready though? I thought babies were the kind of thing that you could never really be ready for?" Ginny asked. She was so glad to be able to talk to her best friend about this.

"To be honest, I don't know. I'm not ready. But this isn't something that you can do by yourself. Harry has to be ready too. And I know for a fact that Harry will want to be very involved in the lives of his children. He can't do that now when his main responsibility is the training of new Auror candidates. In a few years he should be able to get something closer to home. I think it's a good thing that you guys aren't having children right now."

"I'm so glad you're here to help me with these things. I'll have to talk to Harry about this. Maybe he can help me come up with a way to get Mum off my back." Ginny smiled. Hermione laughed.

"I can understand that. Ron said she's been bugging him about when we're going to get married. She even got an engagement ring catalog to hide in his suitcase last time he left." Hermione said.

"How are things with you and Ron?" Ginny asked.

"Good. I don't see him much with their training sessions and games. We see each other as much as we can though. He helped me move in, and he's come over once since then just to visit. He said he'd come by tomorrow before his workout. It's just hard with his work schedule. Course I can't exactly say that mine is less grueling. I took off a whole week to make this move, and I really dread seeing the pile that awaits my return.

"Do you ever find it difficult not being able to talk about work?" Ginny asked.

"Not really," Hermione said after a moment of thought. "I've found that people don't really want to hear about each other's work days. I can talk about some basic things, just no specifics about whom I work with or what I'm doing. I just make sure that I read the Prophet every day and stay up on other topics so I don't have to small talk about work."

Just then the cuckoo clock struck four.

"Ginny, would you like to stay for dinner tonight?" she asked.

"Only if you'll let me cook. No offense, but you know you don't cook very well." Ginny said, laughing.

"I know, but I manage to keep myself alive." Hermione joked back following Ginny to the kitchen. As the youngest of seven and the only girl, Ginny had a knack for creating a delicious meal out of things that were just lying around.

An hour later, the two were having the inaugural meal at the dining room table.


	2. Chapter 2

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 2

The next morning, Ron popped in to have breakfast with Hermione and visit a little before his practice. She made a hearty meal for the two of them. Ron scarfed happily, mumbling something at her occasionally. Hermione ate what she thought was a reasonable amount. After breakfast, he stood in the kitchen with her as she cleaned up.

"I'm glad you've settled in so well. It makes me feel better about having to leave." Ron said as he dried the last dish. Hermione had just finished recounting her last couple of days.

"Where are you going now?" she asked.

"We're going on a tour of the Americas, scrimmaging with some different teams and doing a lot of training. Coach says we need to play someone different. We mostly play European teams, so we can use some new techniques and strategies against them." Ron said excitedly.

"How long will you be gone?" Hermione asked, bracing herself for the number.

"Four months." he replied, waiting for her reaction.

"Four MONTHS! That's so long!" she shouted.

"I know, love, but if it helps us win more games, it's a good thing, isn't it?"

"I'm not happy about this, but there's not really anything I can do about it, is there?" Hermione grumbled.

"Not really. If it helps, I can promise to write you every day and not have any fun." Ron teased.

"That means you'll only have one week back before fall training starts." Hermione said, doing the math in her head.

"I know. You could come with us, you know. Lots of the other guy's girlfriends follow us when we go on the road." Ron suggested.

"You know I can't do that. I can't be off of work that long. Plus, the only thing I would like would be seeing you. Those women are horrible; it's bad enough to see them on the games I go to." Hermione said, pulling a face.

"Let's just enjoy the time that we have left." Ron said, pulling her close to him and wrapping his long, strong arms around her. Hermione calmed down after a moment or two and suggested that they move to the living room.

Just a couple of minutes later, the couple were sitting curled up on the living room couch. Hermione was still in her pajamas, while Ron was wearing sweats for his workout later. They just looked like a cozy couple.

"I guess the bonus of going away is that it pulls you out from under Molly's thumb for longer," Hermione suggested.

"Yeah, that's kind of an added bonus. She's been particularly bad lately." Ron admitted.

"Ginny told me that she was bugging you about when we were going to get engaged." Hermione said.

"Don't worry. I know we're not ready to take that step yet. Maybe someday, but neither of us is ready for it right now. It's hard enough leaving my girlfriend for so long. I would hate to be leaving my fiancée or wife." Ron said.

"If you want, I could talk to Molly. Maybe if she knows neither one of us is ready she'll back off." Hermione suggested.

"No, she doesn't care what we think. It's all time related to her. Just like Harry and Ginny have now been married for long enough that they need to have children, we have been dating for two years, so we're late on getting married. It makes no sense. That's the downside of my mum. She gets something in her head and she just can't let it go." Ron explained.

Just then, the cuckoo clock started its 10 o'clock ringing. Ron groaned, and Hermione sighed. They obediently started getting up. Ron had to get to practice.

"By, love. I'll see you tomorrow." Ron said, hugging her.

"Have a good practice; I love you." Hermione said. They kissed at the front door.

"I love you too." Ron said, before he left.

Hermione still had a couple of vacation days left before she had to go back to work. After she got ready for the day, she puttered around the house for a while, doing laundry and tidying up. Then she saw Holmes lying on the chaise in the library and decided to join him. She read for a while, while lying there with Holmes.

That afternoon, a knock at the door surprised her. Hermione wasn't expecting anyone, and no one besides her closest friends and family had this address yet. She opened the door to find a slightly dowdy upper-middle-aged housewife bearing a basket.

"Hello dear! My name is Marjory Pattington, and I live just two houses down the street. I just wanted to welcome you to the neighborhood." she said cheerily, holding out the basket. "I brought you some of my famous muffins."

"Umm, thank you. Would you like to come in for some tea, Mrs. Pattington?" Hermione asked, gesturing into the house.

"That would be lovely dear, but please call me Margie. Everyone else does. It's wonderful to have you in the neighborhood. Makes me feel much safer." she said, shuffling through the house after Hermione. "I'm sorry I didn't make it out here sooner. My oldest son, Henry, is due back from Hogwarts this weekend. I've been cleaning and cooking up a storm. I want to have a clean house and all his favorite foods ready for my boy when he gets home. It's just so hard when your babies start going off to school. You don't have any babies, do you Hermione?" she chattered.

"No, I don't." Hermione said, serving tea at the kitchen table. She took two large muffins out of the basket and placed them on small plates.

"Oh just you wait. Children are such a blessing. I've got four of them- Henry, of course, then Anthony, Margaret, and Sophia. The youngest three aren't in Hogwarts yet, but it's still such a loss to have Henry gone from the house for several months. I stay busy with the housework and teaching the little ones about reading and writing and all that, but it's just not the same. You'll understand some day when you have your own little cherubs. Such a blessing, they are. Don't you worry though, dear, you're still young. You've still got several years left before you really need to start getting to a family. You've got a lovely looking beau, though. I saw him leave this morning. You'll be waddling happily soon enough, with a belly full of that man's ginger babies. Yes, then it will seem like no time at all until your children start at Hogwarts. You'll see, the little angels. I'm sure yours will be just perfect, with your intelligence and your beau's looks. My Anthony is athletic like that. He just runs around the house all day, pretending to play Quidditch and all that. He's not terribly bright though. Don't get me wrong; he does all right, but he's not going to get the best of grades. Margaret is my reader. She just sits all day and reads- doesn't want to play with dollies, dance, or help me around the house at all. Henry is the quiet one. He does anything I need him to do, including occupy the little ones. They're all so different even though they've all got just the same parents, the little cherubs. You'll see, one day when you have your own." Margie paused to take a drink of her tea.

"Now I hear that you work for the Ministry. That's a very good job. I never had much interest is taking on a job. I married my Randolph, that's Mr. Pattington, right after Hogwarts. It wasn't too long after that that I had Henry. Since then, with the other little ones, there just hasn't been time for any extra working. My Randolph works enough to keep us all fed and keep all the bills paid, so I don't really have anything to worry about. I was an okay student at Hogwarts, but I just never got that interested in school. After I met Randolph I just knew that I wanted to marry him and raise his children. I never gave it a second thought; there just weren't any other jobs that I wanted. Randolph doesn't mind that I stay home with the children either. He is glad not to have to send them off so that someone else can raise them. He also likes coming home to a clean house and a hot meal on the table. Oh you'll have to come over one evening and meet my family."

"Yes, I work a lot, though, so it might be difficult to arrange." Hermione said. The tea was over and Hermione was trying to push this irritating woman out the door. She had talked non-stop for half an hour about nothing. Hermione knew that her toes would freeze on the Equator in July before she would go to that woman's house.

"Thank you for coming by, and thank you for the muffins." Hermione said when she got the woman out onto the front porch.

"You're very welcome, dear. It has been a lovely visit, we'll have to do it again sometime." she said. Hermione smiled and closed the door. Enough was enough. She shook her head and walked back into the house. She hoped Marjory Pattington wouldn't be a regular visitor. If that was the case, she might have to arrange a way to make the house, at least the front of it, appear as if there was no one home.

That evening, Hermione was a little stir-crazy from being inside all day, so she decided to go for a run. She put on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt, strapped on her iPod, and headed out the door, but not before checking for any signs of Marjory Pattington. She had a wonderful run around the neighborhood before she headed back to her house. There was an old man outside the neighboring house, with a small dog on a leash. He waved to her as she walked past and started down the steps.

"Hello, young lady. Out for some exercise, are you?" he asked.

"Yes, I've been cooped up in the house the last couple of days." she responded.

"I noticed you started moving in a few days ago. I'm Basil by the way, Basil Roy." he said, extending a hand. Hermione wiped the sweat from her hand before shaking his.

"Hermione Granger, it's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Roy."

"Oh please, Mr. Roy is my son. I'm just Basil. This is Odie." he said, gesturing down at the dog. Hermione knelt to scratch Odie behind the ears.

"I saw Marjory knocking on your door today, so I though I'd leave you alone for a while. Right crazy one, she is." Basil said. Hermione got the feeling she might like him a lot better.

"She seems alright, just far too chatty. I don't think we had anything in common anyway." Hermione said, making sure she didn't say anything too bad. She didn't know yet how information traveled in this neighborhood, but she figured Marjory might just be Grand Central Station.

"Her boy, Henry, is a good lad. He comes over about once a week when he's in town. Sometimes more when she's really driving him crazy. The lad likes quiet and calm. He comes over to read at my house. Do you read?" Basil asked.

"Almost incessantly. It's by far my favorite hobby." Hermione said.

"Well you'll have to come over and check out my library sometimes. Severus has an impressive collection too. My house is the unofficial intellectual center of this neighborhood, since Severus isn't a year long resident. He's got the house on the other side of yours, you know. Potions Master at Hogwarts, he is. Brilliant." Basil said.

"Do you mean Severus Snape? He owns the house next to mine?" Hermione asked.

"Yes. I take it you know him?" Basil asked.

"I studied under him at Hogwarts." she responded.

"Well, I would imagine he's rather different here than at Hogwarts. From what Henry tells me, he's quite different. It gave him a nasty shock when he entered his first Potions lesson. Anyway, you're welcome to come over any time, my dear. I'm an old man, so I'm almost always here." Basil said.

"Thank you. I may pop by tomorrow, if that's all right. I've got to get back to work next week."

"Where do you work?" he asked.

"Oh, I work at the Ministry." she replied dismissively, hoping to deter him from further questioning.

"Oh I used to work there. I was on the Wizengamot for forty-five years, but that's a story for another time. I'll see you tomorrow, Hermione," he said, turning back towards his house and walking towards it in the manner customary of old men.

AN: I love these neighbors for Hermione. It took me days to develop them. Basil will, I hope, become an important character. Marjory is mostly there for comic relief. She also provides a back-story for Henry Pattington, who you haven't yet met.


	3. Chapter 3

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 3

AN- Thanks for all the reviews! I know this story is a little slow in starting up, but I'm doing that on purpose to try to keep it more realistic (or at least as realistic as anything is in the world of Harry Potter)

On Sunday, Hermione did pop in on Basil. He was, as promised, hanging out at home. Odie greeted her with enthusiasm. Basil, while too old for Odie's level of greeting, also seemed pleased to see her.

"Come in, Hermione, come in. I was just making a sandwich for lunch if you would care to join me." he suggested.

"That sounds great Basil, but only if you let me help." she replied, following him through the house. She noticed that the layout of his house was very similar to her own.

"My dear, you may do whatever you see fit." Basil agreed. In the kitchen, he already had a variety of sandwich ingredients out and a half-assembled sandwich on the counter. He went back to his own sandwich project while Hermione grabbed two pieces of bread from the breadbox and followed in his footsteps. Soon, they were having a nice meal on the front porch, enjoying the weather. At half past twelve, Basil's Muggle watch beeped quietly.

"Well my dear, it is time for us to get inside and pretend we aren't home for a few minutes," he announced, carefully raising from his bench and heading toward the house. Hermione and Odie followed obediently. When they were seated in the living room with the curtains drawn, Hermione finally asked the question she had been wondering.

"Basil, what are we doing?" she asked.

"Hiding from Marjory. She always comes to check on me at this time of day. I can't stand that woman though. I'll let her in if I haven't had any visitors and I'm not too tired to deal with her, but most of the time I just pretend I'm not home. She'll ring the bell any minute now, but she leaves again pretty quickly.

Just as he finished saying it, the bell rang. Hermione fought the urge to get up. She didn't like Marjory either, but it felt silly to sit there silently with Basil and Odie waiting for her to go away. It wasn't her house though, so she didn't make the rules. A minute or two later, Basil got up and quietly shuffled over to the window. He peeked out the curtain before turning back to Hermione and announcing that the threat had passed.

"Basil, do you ever feel bad about just leaving her out there? I mean, wouldn't it be easier to explain to her that you don't need checked on every day?" Hermione said.

"It might be, but sometimes Odie and I appreciate the company, especially when Severus and Henry are away. Plus, thinking she's taking care of me helps that woman rid herself of the perceived responsibilities of people with elderly neighbors. You weren't alive in the Second Great War, my girl, but I have sat for much longer than that waiting for a threat to pass." Basil explained. Hermione took a moment to look around the room where she was sitting. It really was a fabulous room, and it was evident that this was where Basil spent most of his time. One long wall was decorated in floor to ceiling bookshelves, and every shelf was packed with books. Some even bowed slightly from the weight. She longed to run over, scanning titles and touching books, but she knew that many book lovers didn't take kindly to uninvited perusing of their books. There was a recliner in one corner with a small television. Towards the front of the room were a card table and four chairs. At present, it was set up for a game of Wizard chess. Basil caught her looking.

"Do you play chess?" he asked.

"No, but my friend Harry and my boyfriend do. I never learned how to play. I tried to watch them some, but they go far too quickly for me." she explained, stepping closer to admire the glossy pieces.

"I understand that. Perhaps we can teach you this summer. Severus is my primary chess opponent, but we're teaching Henry how to play. He doesn't really want to learn, so it's taking a long time. We could teach you too, if you would like." he suggested.

"That would be wonderful!" Hermione gasped, smiling broadly at the old man. Just then, Hermione's cell phone beeped. She looked at it and frowned. "I'm sorry, Basil, but I've got to go. I'll come back and see you this weekend. I'm going back to work tomorrow, probably why they feel the need to call me with a problem now." she explained.

"That's fine, my dear. Severus and Henry will be back on Wednesday, so I'll have plenty of company. There aren't any Marjory drills in the summer either because Henry can verify that I'm still breathing." Basil said, following Hermione back out to the door.

"Okay then. Well I'll see you this weekend," she said, giving the old man a kiss on the cheek.

"Goodbye, dear." he said, shutting the door behind her. Hermione jogged down the steps and into her own home before pulling out her phone. After pressing a button and waiting just a moment, the other line picked up.

"Baylogg! Are you aware that I am on vacation until midnight tonight?" Hermione snarled into the phone. There was a brief response. "Then what, pray tell, was so important for you to disturb me?" This time the response was longer. "Alright, hold down the fort, I'll be there in half an hour." she replied, hanging up. Hermione ran up the stairs to find something to wear that was suitable for her current emergency. Baylogg was one of the newest Unspeakables, so he frequently made mistakes, paging the wrong people or bumbling around in the labs. He was right in paging her this time though, as there was an issue with one of her projects. Hermione ran back downstairs in a dress shirt and comfortable jeans. It may be a little casual for work, but it was a Sunday afterall. She pulled her hair up into a bun as she hurried. At the bottom of the stairs, Hermione slid into a pair of sensible heels and grabbed her lab coat out of the closet. One step out the door and she had disappeared.

That early and frantic start was a good indicator of Hermione's week. She worked even longer hours than normal, trying to catch up after having been gone. She frequently came home exhausted and simply fell into bed. She'd wake up a few hours later to change clothes, and she'd shower in the morning. It was also the week that Ron left for the Americas. He'd be gone for four months, and she didn't even have time to give him a proper sending off. She barely had time to meet him for dinner the night before his plane left. The only things getting her through the week were Holmes and the knowledge that she would spend time with Basil again this weekend.

*********

Severus watched the last of the thestral-drawn carriages disappear down the path to Hogsmeade. Another school year over meant he had three months to relax. Three months of playing chess with Baz, working on his own projects, and not having to deal with any dunderheads except Henry Pattington.

He walked down to inspect the Slytherin dormitories, stepping over the bits of parchment, quills, and other refuse that youth seemed to leave in their wake. He had learned not to let the mess bother him. He was checking for signs of vandalism, not commentating on the detritus of the masses.

A short while later, Severus returned to his quarters where his own belongings were packed neatly into a small suitcase. He didn't need much. There was another entire wardrobe waiting for him at his London home. He only needed a few basics and some of his favorite books. He couldn't wait to spend his days engrossed in his own work and his evenings with Basil.

Severus gathered his possessions and took the Floo to his summer home. The house elf, Doory was waiting for him beside the fireplace.

"Good afternoon, Master." she said,

"Good afternoon, Doory." he replied. She took his things and scurried out of the room. She knew exactly where everything went. Severus walked around the house, leisurely patrolling every room to make sure that everything was in order. It was, of course. Doory was a good house elf. She got bored a lot when he wasn't there, but the house wouldn't survive if no one looked in on it for 8 months out of every year. He just made sure she wasn't bound to the house, so she could travel around during the year as she desired. He had a sinking suspicion that she helped Marjory Pattington a lot when he wasn't home, but that wasn't up to him to decide.

Severus settled into the living area with a copy of the latest Potions magazine and a stack of mail. Doory alerted him when dinner was ready. After a wonderful dinner of roast chicken and vegetables, Severus walked over to Basil's. He noted that the house between them appeared empty at the moment, but someone had definitely moved in. He made a mental note to ask Basil about their new neighbor.

"Severus! So good to see you! Come in, come in!" Basil said, grinning when he opened the door.

"Hello Baz. Good to see you as well. You're looking a good deal better than you were when I came around on Christmas." Severus said.

"Well, that was all just a hoax to keep people from feeling obligated to invite me to family plans. Contrary to popular belief, I don't really enjoy visiting with other people's families." Basil said. He walked automatically to the chess table and sat down by the ivory pieces. Severus took his customary seat across the board.

"We've got a new person to teach the game too, hopefully she'll be a more eager learner than Henry." Basil said, moving a piece.

"She? Who?" Severus asked, moving his own piece.

"Our new neighbor. She's delightful- only moved in a couple of weeks ago. I haven't seen her this week, but she told me she had to go back to work." Basil said. Severus magiced up two cups of tea.

"What does she do? It looks like no one is there now, but it's almost 20 hours." Severus asked.

"She says she works for the Ministry, but that's about all I can get from her. I figure she's an Unspeakable." Baz replied.

"What's her name, the mysterious neighbor?"

"Hermione- Hermione Granger." Basil said. Severus nearly spat out his tea. He swallowed painfully and looked accusingly at Basil.

"You had better not be pulling my leg, old man. Hermione Granger is our neighbor? The Hermione Granger, former Gryffindor know-it-all." he asked.

"I don't know about all that. I think she's pretty great. You know, it's been almost a decade since she left Hogwarts. A lot can change in that amount of time." Basil said.

"Or a lot can stay the same." Severus grumped.

"Well she's coming over this weekend, so if you see her you will be nice. I'll not have you chasing off my new friend. She could very well save me from Marjory during the school year."

"Fine. I'll try not to chase off the girl, though my mere presence might be enough," he said.

"Well I don't know about all that. Frankly, she took the news of you living next door a lot better than you have." Basil replied. He ordered his pieces into one final move before announcing checkmate. It was rather nice to have Severus so distracted; it meant that he could win without too much fuss.


	4. Chapter 4

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 4

On Friday evening, Hermione walked into her house feeling much like a beaten witch. It had just been a horrible week. Anything that could go wrong went wrong. She hadn't worked a day that was shorter than 10 hours all week, and it was exhausting. She sat down in the nearest chair, which happened to be in her foyer, without even having removed her outer robes.

She had enough time to sigh and rub her eyes before there was a knock at the door. Hermione reluctantly rose from her chair. She opened the door to find a teenage boy standing nervously on her doorstep.

"Good evening, Miss Granger. My name is Henry Pattington. Mr Roy sent me over to invite you for a drink. He saw you come home and thought you looked like you need one." the boy said, shifting his weight from one leg to the other. Hermione thought momentarily and glanced at her attire. She took off her robes to reveal a sensible black skirt and short-sleeved blouse paired with low black heels. She mustered up a smile for the boy.

"First of all, call me Hermione. We are neighbors after all. Mr. Roy, however, was quite right, and I think I shall come over for a little while if you would be so kind as to escort me." she said calmly. The teen grinned and stepped out of the doorway so Hermione could shut and lock the door. She walked beside him to Basil's house where the boy held the front door open for her.

Basil met them at the door to the living room.

"Hello, my dear. I mean no offense by it, but you look terrible," he said. Hermione chuckled slightly.

"None taken. Now I believe the boy mentioned something about a drink?" she asked.

"Oh yes, this is a vital part of recovering from a Ministry job. The bar is over in the corner, my dear. But first, you've met Henry, and I believe you've met my other guest. Severus, I assume you and Hermione are already aquainted?" Basil asked.

"Indeed. Good evening, Miss Granger." Severus said, nodding.

"Good evening, professor." she replied. They calmly ignored each other except for forced bits of conversation with Basil. Hermione poured herself a snifter of brandy and told Basil about her week while Severus played chess with Henry. When she was finished, Hermione thanked her host and bid farewell to the room in general before returning home for a much-needed rest. After she left, Basil walked over to Severus and whapped him in the back of the head.

"Ouch! What was that for?" Severus snarled.

"You could have been a little less of a prat, you know. Makes me feel ridiculous for telling her you weren't awful when away from school," the old man grumbled.

"Well, she wasn't exactly the picture of friendliness either." the Potions Master grumbled back.

"Were you not listening to a thing she said? The girl worked a 14-hour day today! She's stressed and exhausted. You, however, have been on vacation for almost a week now. You could have tried to be nicer."

"Merlin, Baz. What do you want from me?"

"I want you to be happy. Don't act like you are, my friend. Your only friend is an old man. That girl is brilliant! I know she used to be your student, but that was a long time ago. Let bygones be bygones and just try to be nice, maybe you'll make a new friend?" he lectured.

"Wow, Baz; I think you may be a distant relative of Albus Dumbledore! I think I've taken enough abuse for one day, so I'll be going home now. I'll see you later Basil, Henry." he said, rising from the chair and grabbing his robes.

"Good night, professor." Henry responded obediently, beginning to move chess pieces back to their proper places on the board.

"Good night, Severus. When you stop being miffed, just think about what I said." Basil added. Severus nodded formally and left the house. When Henry finished putting away the chess set he two retired for the evening, trying to figure out what he shouldn't tell his mother. She always quizzed him about Mr. Roy when he got home.

Hermione arrived home for the second time that evening calmer than the first time. She took her shoes off just inside the door picked up Holmes and walked to her bedroom. She got ready for bed and lay there for a few minutes, writing in her journal and reading before going to sleep, the cat curled up at her hip. She didn't give a second thought to her former professors behavior. It was, compared to her experiences, a laid-back attitude for him.

Severus arrived home still irritated with what Basil had said. He thought back to something his mother had told him many years ago, when he was upset by something one of the kids said about him at grammar school.

'Severus,' she had said, 'the only time someone else's opinion really bothers you is when you're secretly afraid they might be correct.'

Severus knew that he hadn't acted in a friendly manner toward Hermione, but their little group hadn't been invaded by anyone in years. He also had personal history with her, which made reestablishing any sort of connection awkward. He recognized from seeing her today, that she definitely wasn't the same person she was when she graduated Hogwarts, but everyone changes in eight years time.

He trudged up the stairs to his room to find that Dorothea, his 10-year-old black panther was already lounging in her bed. Hagrid gave her to him when she was just a kitten. Hagrid had assumed he had traded for an older kitten, not a baby panther when he decided to get the Potions Master a pet. Doro grew and grew, but she had become Severus' familiar. There was no getting rid of a familiar, so they had to tame her. Now Doro was little more than a huge house cat. She was approaching middle aged, which helped, because she no longer had the destructive energy of a kitten.

"Hello Doro." he said quietly. The cat opened her eyes but did not so much as raise her head off her pillow.

"Well, one of my former students moved into the house next door. Miss Granger- I'm sure you heard me talk about her little group when you were a kitten. She's a young lady now, and Basil is quite taken with her. He seems to think that she and I should become great friends. I was rather rude to her this evening, not to mention when she was my student, so I don't know if that's possible. I mean, Henry doesn't act oddly towards me during school breaks, but he knew me as a person before he met me as a teacher." Severus said as he changed out of his clothes and climbed into bed. "I'll have to figure out how to be at least cordial with her though if she is one of Basil's friends." Severus yawned and turned out the lamp.

************

On Saturday morning Hermione got to sleep late, so she awoke refreshed and energized. It wasn't too hot out yet, so she got dressed quickly and went for a run. When she got back, Hermione set about getting ready and making brunch.

Severus woke up too early in the morning, as per usual. He worked in his private lab for a while, cleaning and taking inventory for an apothecary trip later in the week. Afterwards, he got breakfast for Doro and settled down to read in the living room. After a while, he saw a blur flash in front of the window. He got up to see what it was, and it was Hermione Granger jogging down the street in tight-fitting workout clothes, her hair tied back in a ponytail that swayed with her stride. An hour or so later, he saw her jog back the other way, returning to her house. Severus sighed and shook his head. Running clothes, while not revealing, were much more form fitting than anything Severus had seen her wear before. He could now verify for sure that she was not a little girl anymore. Hermione Granger was a very attractive woman.

Hermione looked at her array of muffins and fruit for brunch and smiled. She grabbed a large picnic basket and started loading it full of goodies. She carried the basket with her next door to knock on Basil's door. Of course, the old man was home.

"Good morning, my dear. I wasn't expecting to see you so early," he said.

"Well, I was getting ready to eat a little brunch, and I decided to bring you some as well." she replied, lifting the picnic basket slightly.

"Excellent, I hope you've got enough for three because Henry is here as well."

"Basil, I think I've got enough food for a small army in this basket."

"Well then, come right on in. Henry! Hermione has brought us food, come with us to the kitchen to eat." he called, leading the way back through the house. Hermione, of course, knew exactly where the kitchen was since Basil's house was laid out exactly like her own, but it was still polite to let the host lead the way.

"Thank you for bringing over food, Miss Granger." Henry said politely, following on her heels.

"Oh Henry, you're very welcome. Please, call me Hermione. I hope you brought your appetite, because there are lots of good things in this basket," she said, smiling at the boy.

"Oh don't worry about Henry, he's always hungry. This here is a growing boy. He needs near constant nourishment. He's only here so he doesn't eat his mother out of house and home," Basil remarked. Hermione laughed.

She laid all the food out on the table while Henry fetched plates and utensils for everyone. Basil refilled his coffee and got a new cup down for Hermione. Pretty soon, they were all sitting around the kitchen table munching on muffins, fruit, and yogurt.

"This is almost as good as when the Professor cooks," Henry mumbled, between mouthfuls of blueberry muffin.

"Snape cooks?" Hermione asked, dismayed. Basil took a long drink of his coffee before responding.

"Not often, but it's glorious when he does. I think it's because of the potions."

"That he doesn't cook often or that he can cook very well?" Hermione asked.

"Both," Basil clarified, "you see. I think he doesn't cook often because he spends so much time in the lab working that cooking is repetitive and pointless. If it weren't for the house elf, I think he'd starve. But, I also think that the skills he uses in potions making come in very handy in the kitchen. He can julienne fries like a machine."

"I guess that makes sense. It's basically the same concept, especially with soups and stews."

They munched for another minute or two before someone rang the doorbell.

"Henry, would you go see who's at the door?" Basil asked. Henry quickly got up and scampered out of the room.

"That boy is just so handy to have around," he said, taking another drink of his coffee. Henry came back a couple of minutes later with Severus Snape trailing behind him.

"Good morning, Basil, Miss Granger." he nodded.

"Severus! How are you doing today, my boy? Look, Hermione brought over brunch! She'll give you a run for your money on cooking skills as well. Try something." Basil cheered. He passed Severus a plate of muffins. The Potions Master reluctantly took one and sat down at the table.

"Miss Granger, please do not be offended if I do not stuff myself with these two, but I have already eaten today." he remarked, carefully peeling back the muffin cup.

"Professor I can assure you that I will not be offended. Basil and Henry have been praising my cooking far beyond what it deserves, and please call me Hermione. I have to hear Miss Granger enough during the week."

"I will try, Hermione, and this is indeed a delectable muffin." Severus replied, still very stiffly.

AN- There you have it! Severus is making an effort to be a little friendlier, but it's difficult for him. I'm trying to write something with Severus in it and keep him plausibly within character. He thinks a lot of different things, but doesn't say much.


	5. Chapter 5

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 5

Over the next few weekends, Hermione and Severus became a little more comfortable with the idea of sharing a friend. Severus was working very hard at not being impolite; while Hermione was doing everything she could not to upset the Potions Master. Basil always watched their interactions like he was waiting for a fight to break out. Henry made sure he was never standing between them.

Hermione's favorite way to spend an afternoon was watching a chess match between Severus or Basil and Henry, as they tried to teach the boy their favorite game. They were both so patient with him, which was an absolute necessity. Henry was not a gifted chess player by any means. He preferred to draw things that he saw out the window or read. Usually one of the men would try to play with Henry until the boy got frustrated, then they would leave him be so he could stare out the window in peace.

On one such afternoon, Henry interrupted Hermione's reading and Basil and Severus' chess game with an announcement.

"Hermione, there's someone on your porch." he said. Hermione moved to the window to look. A very frazzled looking Ginny Potter was pounding down the door to her house.

"Oh, that's my friend Ginny. I have no idea what she's doing breaking down my door though." Hermione commented.

"Why don't you invite her over? It's about teatime anyway. Call her over, and we'll get the tea going. Henry, I think there are some biscuits in the kitchen, would you go see?" Basil said, getting up. Severus rolled his eyes and stayed seated.

"Perhaps Miss Weasley had a private situation she needed to discuss." Severus sneered. He wasn't looking forward to seeing another former student, though the Weasley girl was one of the most tolerable of that lot.

"Nonsense, she can always decline the invitation. Go ask her, Hermione." Basil continued, undeterred. Henry had disappeared in search of biscuits, and Basil was preparing for tea.

"Okay, I'll see if she wants any." Hermione said. She was confused. Ginny never came by unannounced, so she was a little concerned about what might have happened.

"Gin? I'm over here." Hermione called from Basil's front walk.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this one was your house." the redhead responded, suddenly looking very sneaky. Hermione could tell she was hiding something; Ginny wasn't a very good liar. She decided not to pry just yet.

"It is. We're all over at Basil's right now, and he has extended an invitation for you to join us for tea." Hermione said. Ginny somewhat less than stealthily stashed something in her bag before crossing the yard over to Hermione.

"Well I suppose tea would be lovely. I can't wait to meet the infamous Basil Roy." Ginny said with a big smile plastered on her face.

"Gin, what's wrong?" Hermione asked, concern no longer ignored.

"Oh it's nothing that can't wait until after a cup of tea." Ginny replied, looping her arm through Hermione's and heading back toward the house.

"Oh, I should give you fair warning- Severus is here as well." Hermione said quietly just before they reached the front door. Ginny made no response. Hermione opened the door and ushered her friend toward the living room. Basil, Severus, and Henry were seated around the expanded card table, each of them sipping of a cup of tea. A dish of biscuits sat in the middle. Hermione saw the two empty places for herself and Ginny, and took her seat.

"Everyone, this is Ginny Potter. Ginny, this is Basil Roy and Henry Pattington. You, of course, are already acquainted with Professor Snape." Hermione introduced. The two filled their teacups.

"Mrs Potter? I take it you married the Boy-Who-Lived-To-Drive-Me-Insane?" Severus asked snarkily.

"Yes, Harry and I have been married for five years." Ginny said, not skipping a beat.

"Oh that's lovely. Do you have any little ones yet?" Basil asked.

"No, it's still just the two of us." Ginny replied, smiling at Basil. Hermione knew children were a touchy subject; she was hoping Basil wouldn't continue along this line of questioning.

"So, Mrs. Potter, may we ask about your occupation, or are you, like Hermione, not at liberty to say?" Basil asked.

"Oh no, I do not work with Hermione. I work at the Ministry in the Department of International Magical Cooperation. I'm a cultural liaison." she replied.

"What exactly does a cultural liaison do?" Severus asked.

"Well, basically I am an expert of Wizarding cultures throughout the world. I tell our dignitaries and their offices what sorts of clothing, mannerisms, and language are appropriate and inappropriate when they are to be visited by someone from another country or are visiting another country. The Minster goes to many of the same places, so it's not terribly difficult. When I do not know the information, there is usually a cultural liaison or it's equivalent in that nation. Frequently, I give lessons in British culture to Wizards planning an official visit." Ginny explained.

"That sounds so cool! Do you ever get to travel?" Henry asked.

"Sometimes I am invited to attend events, but I don't travel as much as you would think. I take maybe one or two international trips each year. Mostly my work is consultation only." Ginny replied. Henry looked a little less excited, but he was still interested. Hermione knew that Ginny was understating her responsibilities and importance.

"So how long have you two known each other?" Henry asked.

"Oh we go way back to when we started Hogwarts. Ginny's older brother Ron and I were friends from first year on, together with our friend Harry who would become Ginny's husband. Ginny is one year younger than the rest of us, but she was still in on most of the exploits." Hermione answered.

"Do you have any good friends at Hogwarts, Henry?" Ginny asked.

"A couple." he responded.

"But they don't get into near the trouble of the Golden Trio." Severus asserted, sarcasm dripping from their former nickname.

"Well that would be difficult to do. I think the boys spent more time in detention than they did in class." Hermione laughed.

"I just wish Harry hadn't had detention with that Umbridge woman. He still has the scars. It's so hard to see her at the Ministry and not want to box her ears. I can't imagine what Harry goes through when he runs into her." Ginny said.

"What that woman did was horrible. It took years to undo all the damage she had done, especially to the younger students." Severus said solemnly.

"I can't believe you know Harry Potter." Henry gasped, shaking his head in awe.

"Oh Henry. Tell you what; next time Harry comes to visit me I'll have you over too. That way you will know Harry as well." Hermione said.

"Really?" Henry asked, delighted.

"Sure, he's due to be back in town sometime next week. I'm sure we'll be around here again soon." Ginny said.

"Oh wow! I'd only be the coolest boy at Hogwarts if I knew Harry Potter! I can't believe I get to meet him! This is the best day ever!" Henry bounced in his chair. Hermione and Ginny laughed.

"How about you Basil? Would you like for me to bring Harry over here? He could probably beat you at chess." Hermione asked.

"Sure, if he's got the time. I'd love to meet your friend." Basil said. He turned to look at Severus.

"Count me out. I've already seen plenty of the boy hero." Severus sneered.

"Oh I'm so excited, I've just got to go tell Mum! Good-bye everybody!" Henry called, dashing out the door.

"Well he's certainly a very busy boy." Ginny remarked.

"He's just very excited. Normally Henry is very quiet. He's an observant child." Basil interjected.

"Harry tends to have that effect on people. I hope he'll calm down a little when Harry's around though. He really hates the attention." Ginny said.

"That's understandable really." Basil said, "So Ginny, what brings you to our little gathering this afternoon?"

"Well, I had something that I need to show Hermione, but we're having such a good time I'd hate to ruin it." Ginny said shyly.

"Ginny, I don't know what you have to show me that could possibly be that bad. Out with it." Hermione said, turning toward her friend.

"Are you certain? Perhaps you'd like to go somewhere more private?" Ginny suggested.

"Alright, let's step into the hall and you can show me there. Then we can get on with our lives. I hate to see you looking so cowed." Hermione huffed, stalking out to the hall. Ginny followed.

A minute or so later there was a violent yell from the hall. Severus reflected that he hadn't heard anyone make that kind of noise since the war. The yell was followed by Hermione growling, "That bastard little prick. I'll kill him."

Ginny ran back into the living room to grab her bag. The door slammed shut just as she entered the room.

"I think we'll be going now. It was very nice to meet you, Basil, and to see you again Professor. We'll have to do this again soon." Ginny stuttered quickly before scurrying out the door. A copy of the most recent issue of Witch Weekly fell out of her pocket.

"Mrs. Potter, you dropped-" Basil started, but the little witch was gone, tailing her livid friend.

AN: I'm so so so sorry everyone for not updating in a small eternity. I'm entering a very busy part of the year, so I can't promise that my updates will be frequent for the next month of so. I hope you enjoyed this chapter despite its tardiness.


	6. Chapter 6

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 6

Hermione stomped back to her house with a fire in her eyes and her wand drawn. She had never been so angry in her entire life. Ginny scurried in behind her. The redheaded girl was a little afraid of her friend at the moment, but she stood by anyway.

"Hermione, what are you going to do?" she asked.

"I don't know Ginny, but right now it's taking every fiber of my being not to curse every cell in his body." Hermione snarled. She walked over to her own liquor cabinet and took a drink straight from the firewhiskey bottle.

"We'll get him, Hermione. Just please don't do anything rash." Ginny pleaded, taking the bottle from Hermione's hand.

********

Basil looked at the magazine clutched in his hand. He briefly scanned the article open on the open page. The whole time he was sighing and shaking his head.

"That poor girl is engaged to an idiot." he said.

"I'm positive that I won't want to know as soon as I'm told, but what happened?" Severus asked.

"If the information in this article is correct, Hermione's fiancé has been making the rounds in South America. They've got pictures of him living it up in the clubs, including several of him with women. They're all in compromising positions. I feel so bad for Hermione." Basil said.

"She'd be better off without him. Weasley has always been an idiot." Severus replied, setting up the chess set once more.

"At least we know that her anger is justified. I've not known Hermione to lose her temper." Basil said.

"She is almost unfailingly even tempered. The only person I ever saw her feud with was Weasley, usually when he did something stupid. This is pretty much the most stupid thing he has done though." Severus said.

"I can't believe he would cheat on her. She's a wonderful young woman. She spends her time with the likes of us when she could very well have been out on the town every night." Basil added.

"Well Baz, since you're feeling so sympathetic, maybe you should just go over there and help her plot Weasley's assassination." Severus said snarkily.

"No, I don't think she needs any help on that front." Basil said, setting the magazine down.

"Then let's let the subject go and play some chess." Severus said, waving a hand at the empty seat across from him. Basil sighed and sat down in his usual chair for another game of chess.

An hour or so later, Severus left Basil's house. On an impulse, he secreted the magazine into his pocket. Basil didn't seem to notice.

When Severus got home he took a look at the article. The written word wasn't too bad; it was the photos that really sold the story, and as they said, a picture was worth a thousand words. And in the wizarding world, where photos moved, it was more than true. He knew that they would publish the most scandalous of the photos they had taken, but the worst was still really bad. There was a photo of Weasley dancing with a girl. It looked more like sex with clothes on than dancing. There was another photo of Weasley walking out a club with a girl on either side, each hand tucked into the back of their pants. He sincerely hoped that Granger would leave him for this. He would lose all faith in the girl if she didn't.

************

Hermione felt a little better after she sent a series of Howlers to Ron's last known address. Getting all the screaming and yelling out felt good. She was still angry, but it was more controllable now.

"Ginny, could you pass me the magazine. I think I'm ready to take an objective look now." Hermione said.

"Sure, it's just…" Ginny started. She reached into her pocket to feel nothing. "Well, it was in my pocket. Hold on, I'll find it. It probably just fell out somewhere."

When a few minutes of searching yielded no results, Ginny was starting to get frustrated. She ended up going out and buying a new copy at the neighborhood newsstand.

"Okay, Hermione, do you still think you're ready to see this?" Ginny asked, having returned with a fresh copy.

"I'm about as ready as I'll ever be." Hermione replied, reaching a hand out from where she sat calmly in her favorite armchair. Ginny hesitantly handed her the magazine. Hermione flipped it open to the proper page and looked.

Ginny could tell that her friend was working very hard to stay calm as she read the article and surveyed the photos. The waves of her anger sparked by her magical abilities rolled across the floor. It was impossible not to feel it. Outwardly though, Hermione sat there quietly, watching the moving pictures. Ginny felt as though she should snap the magazine away, but she was a little afraid of what Hermione might do to her. Ever so quietly, Hermione closed the magazine. She carefully touched the front cover before throwing the whole thing into the fire. She watched it burn to cinders before turning to Ginny.

"I love you, but your brother can never be forgiven for what he has done to me." Hermione said quietly. She turned back to the fire in silence. Ginny sat down to give her friend some space with her thoughts.

Two hours later, when Hermione still hadn't said anything, Ginny got a little worried.

"Hermione, please, I know it's hard, but could you please talk to me." Ginny pleaded. Hermione looked down at her hands before saying,

"I loved him. I loved him, Ginny. I wanted to be his wife. I wanted to have his children. I wanted to grow old and gray with him. He said he wanted all that as well."

"I'm sure he did at one point, but you know my brother. He has always wanted the shiniest toy in the shed. He just didn't appreciate what he had with you. He is chasing after all these girls because they are the shiny new toy. My brother is an idiot, Hermione. Surely you can see that."

"Ginny, could you please go." Hermione said quietly. Ginny knew her friend was hurting, so she didn't take it too personally. She just told Hermione to Floo her if she needed anything and left.

******

Three days later Harry was banging on Hermione's front door. The lights were all out, as they had been for days. After the war, Harry and Hermione decided to become each other's support system, since neither of them had any remaining family. Ginny was now Harry's next of kin, but he still filled that role for Hermione. So, it was him that her office called when she hadn't shown up for three days. Apparently she hadn't answered any Owls, pages, Floos, or visits during that time. Ginny said she was taking the situation with Ron rather hard, but Harry had hoped she wouldn't do anything stupid. When Hermione didn't answer her door, he pulled out his wand and let himself in.

The house was dark and sad when Harry entered. Holmes came to him immediately and meowed piteously. This was not a good sign. Holmes didn't mind Harry, but for him to suddenly appear like that meant that he needed something. Harry scooped up the cat and walked into the house, looking for the kitchen. He figured Holmes was hungry, given the way he purred at Harry's every step. After feeding Hermione's cat, Harry took off in search of his friend.

He found Hermione in the living room, sitting in a chair looking as if she hadn't even moved in three days. Harry breathed a sigh of relief though as he saw the regular rise and fall of her chest.

"Hermione? It's me." Harry started out gently. He knelt down in front of her. Hermione blinked at him slowly.

"Harry." she whispered.

"Yes, how are you feeling?"

"It's over, Harry. It's over.," she said quietly.

"I know. Ron's a bloody fool, Hermione. You know that don't you?"

"I loved him." she replied.

"Hermione, you've got to snap out of this. I came down to check on you because you hadn't been to work for three days. But it looks like you haven't even gotten out of this chair for three days." Harry said, worried.

"It hasn't been that long."

After that Hermione slipped back into her own thoughts and refused to answer him. Harry needed help. He didn't know anyone in this neighborhood, but Ginny had mentioned something about a neighbor Hermione was friendly with. Harry left the house and walked over to the home next door, knocking quickly on the door. What appeared on the other side was no one he would have expected.

"Professor Snape!" Harry gasped, shocked. The professor answered the door clad in a white dress shirt and dark jeans.

"Potter. What do you want?" he asked.

"I'm sorry. Ginny said Hermione was friendly with her neighbor. I didn't know which side, so I just guessed. I need help." Potter explained. The Potions Master wasn't nearly as terrifying to an adult.

"Old Baz won't be much help to you. What's wrong?"

"Well, I went to check on her because she hadn't shown up to work in three days. It looks like she hasn't even moved in three days." Harry explained hurredly.

"She still hasn't gotten over that numskull yet?" Severus asked.

"No, sir. I tried to talk to her about it, but she just quit talking at all."

"Well, I'll break her for you, but you're going to have to pick up the pieces." Severus said. He stepped out his door, shutting it tightly behind him. He followed Harry up to Hermione's house. Harry led him into the living room where Hermione was still staring off into space.

"She's been like this for how long?" Snape asked.

"Nearest I can tell, about three days." Harry responded, looking at his friend dismally.

"Miss Granger." Snape said, in his commanding teacher voice. Hermione gave no response, no sign she'd even heard him.

"Miss Granger you will look at me when I speak to you." he ordered. Hermione slowly turned her head.

"Miss Granger, get up." She slowly obeyed. "You will go upstairs and take a shower. Then you will change into clean clothing and come back downstairs. Move." he ordered. She hesitated. "Today, Miss Granger!" Snape barked. Hermione walked out of the room and up the stairs. Within a few minutes they heard the water start running in her bathroom.

"That was amazing!" Harry said, in awe.

"Don't start praising it yet. I haven't even begun to break her spirit. Even mental patients tend to follow my orders."

"Do you think you could get her to eat something?" Harry asked.

"Of course, but you should prepare something to be eaten. I can order her to eat, but ordering her to cook won't work so well." Snape explained. Harry nodded and headed to the kitchen immediately. Severus sat down on the living room couch to wait for Hermione. He had been there for a minute or two when a tabby cat jumped onto the couch beside him. Severus regarded the cat who was looking intently at him. After a minute or so, the tabby began to rub his head against Snape's arm. Snape reached to pet it, and Hermione's cat began to purr loudly.

Harry returned from the kitchen with a sandwich and a glass of milk on a tray. He set the tray on the table beside Hermione's chair. He looked skeptically at Snape and the cat, who was now curled up on Snape's lap.

"I've never seen him behave that way toward anyone but Hermione." Harry said quietly. Holmes looked up and eyed Harry, curling himself into a tighter ball on the Potions Master's lap.

"I presume you know this animal then?" Snape asked.

"Oh yes, that's Hermione's cat, Holmes. She found him in Ireland shortly after Crookshanks died. He doesn't normally like people that much though." Harry said. Severus heard a creak on the stairs and turned to see Hermione walking down. She was wearing clean clothing and her hair was wet, indicating a probable shower.

"Miss Granger, you will sit down and eat the entire sandwich Mr. Potter has prepared for you. You will drink the entire glass of milk." Severus instructed. Hermione walked back to her chair and picked the sandwich off the plate. She took a bite and slowly began to chew.

The waiting required a great deal of patience, but Hermione finally finished the sandwich and the glass of milk. She looked down at her hands. Severus took a deep breath. This part was necessary, but not fun at all.

"Miss Granger, you know that Weasley boy will be better off without you." he said. He waited a minute or so before adding "He didn't care for you anyway." Harry looked at him puzzled and a little angry. Snape held up a hand to silence him.

"He could do much better than you, and obviously he realized this." Snape said, Hermione began to clench and unclench her fists.

"You are far from the ideal mate. Your mixed blood heritage would only sully his gene pool. His children would all have been born buck-toothed know-it-alls. He's probably making love right now to a beautiful Latin woman with a curvy body and a thick accent. He was so sick of you that he had to go halfway across the planet to get away." Severus said, his voice dripping with poison. With each statement, he could feel her anger growing.

"Get ready to save my skin, Potter. You'll play good cop." Snape murmured. Harry nodded.

"You weren't even worthy of his attentions." Snape growled. Hermione leapt from her chair, eyes blazing with anger. She wielded her wand and, within a second, had it pointed firmly at Snape's throat.

"That's NOT true." Hermione snarled. Instantly Harry was at her side.

"You know that Hermione. He wasn't good enough for you. He was smart enough or ambitious enough. He resented you for your successful career. You're too good for him anyway. He's just a spoiled little prick who can't keep it in his pants for a week. He ran off at the first temptation with whatever hideous woman he could find. You were wasting your time with him." Harry babbled, turning Hermione's head gently so their eyes met. Within a few minutes of his propagandizing, Hermione had relaxed. She wasn't the zombie that she had been before, and she no longer held her wand pressed to Snape's throat. Finally, she spoke.

"You're right Harry. I can do better that Ronald Weasley." Hermione said.

"Hermione, thank Merlin you're back!" Harry said, engulfing her in a hug.

"What do you mean 'back' Harry?" she asked.

"You had turned into some kind of a zombie. You weren't responding to anything. I came here because you hadn't been to work in three days."

"Three DAYS! Harry I'm never going to get caught up!" she shrieked.

"Well, it would have been a lot longer than that if Professor Snape hadn't been around to pull you out of it. I'm not exactly sure how his ordering you around and insulting you worked, but it did." Harry said.

"Thank you, Severus, for whatever it was that you did." Hermione added.

"I see my work here is finished. Good evening to you both." Severus said, moving the cat and walking quietly from the house.

AN: Weird I know. I was struggling to figure out how to make this break. Okay, now I need your help. I need a realistic way to bring Hermione and Severus together more frequently and in a more private basis than visits at Basil's home. I know he could help her with something for work, or she could help him with some Potions research. Is there another option or something in particular you would like to see. I didn't start this out with much of a plan, so I'm open to all kinds of suggestions.

Hit that review button and tell me what you think.


	7. Chapter 7

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 7

Hermione didn't recover instantaneously from her break-up with Ron, but she was slowly returning to a normal mindset. Harry came over again a few weeks later to properly meet Basil and Henry. Henry was so besotted that Hermione doubted she's ever get Harry to meet anyone again. She sent Severus a thank you gift basket of his favorite herbal teas.

Hermione got caught up on work again. She had to face an evaluation from her supervisor in the department because she had bailed on work for three days for no reason. Because Hermione was such a valuable employee and everyone knew the circumstances, it would be allowed to slide this time. The supervisor warned her, though, that further infractions could not be overlooked. She also mandated that Hermione have an evaluation by a psychologist at St. Mungo's before returning to work.

Talking with the psychologist, Healer Emery, had actually been very refreshing. Healer Emery was a grandmotherly sort of woman whose office looked rather more like someone's living room. Hermione was very nervous about talking to someone, but Healer Emery invited her in for tea and biscuits. Talking to her about Ron was kind of like talking to her own mother, who had been deceased since the war. The Healer listened to everything Hermione had to say. She then told Hermione about how grieving is a process that, aside from the zombie part, she was moving through just fine. She assured Hermione that she would feel better, and one day, she would even be in love again. Hermione took great comfort in Healer Emery's words and gladly took one of her cards, promising to call if anything happened. She thought to herself that she might make an appointment with the Healer at some point in the future for another chat and some motherly advice just because she was lacking that in her life.

Weekends as Basil's house went back to their normal routine. Severus really was much more relaxed during the summer months than he was at school. Hermione found herself enjoying his company on occasion. Henry spent a week pestering her about Harry until she finally gave in and told him to drop the subject. Severus helped her escape that sometimes. When he played chess with her, he would glare at Henry every time the boy came near the table. Henry had been deemed hopeless at chess, but Hermione was improving. She now understood how all the pieces moved and was beginning to grasp the strategy.

One Wednesday afternoon, Severus was out enjoying a morning stroll when he saw a cat standing on the sidewalk. He knelt down to pet the cat and noticed it was Hermione's. The tricky little bugger must have found a way to sneak out of the house. Not fond of the idea of breaking into Hermione's house even to return her cat, Severus settled for taking the cat with him and leaving Hermione a note. He picked up the cat with little fuss or fight. Thankfully, it seemed that Holmes was accustomed to being carried at least occasionally. Severus wrote a quick note telling Hermione to come pick up her cat and stuffed it through the mail slot. He then turned around and stalked back to his house, wondering how Doro would deal with their visitor.

The answer to that question came almost as soon as Snape reentered his house. He carried the tabby cat into his living room where Doro was lying in the sun. She raised her head to look at them, then slowly rose to her feet and padded over. Holmes sat sedately on Severus' lap. He allowed Doro to inspect him. Apparently, the housecat was deemed acceptable company, because Doro sighed and headed back to her sunny spot. Holmes jumped off Severus' lap and joined her for an afternoon nap.

Hermione worked late that evening. She had been trying to show a little extra effort at work to make up for disappearing, not that she really needed to. It was not unusual for Hermione to stay at the office when she was working on a project, as she had been today. Sometimes she just got so caught up in her work that she didn't even notice until hours after quitting time. Tonight was one of those nights. She didn't get home until nearly midnight. She was stacking the mail from the foyer floor when she noticed Severus' note. She had thought it was a little strange that Holmes hadn't come to greet her at all. She wondered if it were too late to disturb Severus, then she laughed to herself remembering his nighttime prowling. She put her pumps back on and walked the short way to Severus' house.

Severus was relaxing in his pajamas in the living room when there was a knock on the door. He had no idea who would be dropping by at this hour. Hermione hadn't come by yet, but surely she had been home for hours. He opened the door to find Hermione standing there, looking tired and still dressed in office clothing.

"Are you just now getting back from work?" Severus asked.

"Unfortunately yes. I got sucked into my project this afternoon and didn't even realize what time it was until an hour or so ago. It took me that long to get everything stabilized for tomorrow and get home." Hermione said.

"Merlin. Come in, come in." Severus said, stepping out of the way and allowing Hermione entrance to the house. She briefly noted his pajamas.

"I'm sorry to pop by so late. I just figured you'd still be up, and you'd probably want to get rid of my cat."

"Actually, it's really surprising because your cat has gotten along so well with my cat. I wasn't sure how Doro would take having another feline around, but they seem to have become friends. Come see." Severus said, gesturing to the living room. Hermione walked in to see Holmes curled up on a large black cushion. She called his name to wake him. The surprise came when a pair of eyes opened on the 'cushion' as well. Holmes got up and stretched before heading over to Hermione. The large panther rose and padded across the room.

"Severus, is this what you call a cat?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, Doro is a feline. She's just a very large cat. Right now she looks like a very large cat who wants to say hello." he said. Hermione felt the weight of Doro's head resting on her knee. She scratched behind the cat's ears and felt the panther's deep purring against her knee.

"She's beautiful." Hermione said, almost in a whisper. She petted the panther for another minute or so before scooping up her cat.

"Well, we should be going. I've got another long day tomorrow. Thank you for grabbing Holmes and letting him stay here all day." Hermione said.

"You're very welcome." Severus replied. He followed Hermione and her cat back to the door, and Doro followed him.

"Goodnight, Severus." she said, stepping out the door.

"Goodnight, Hermione." Severus replied, watching her walk down the front steps before he shut the door.

AN: I know it's short, but I thought you'd like to have a little something. We have state testing this week, and I'm almost finished writing exams, so I might (emphasis on the might) get another chapter done this week.

Please review, the feedback really does motivate me.


	8. Chapter 8

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 8

After finding that Doro became lonely at home without seeing another feline, Severus and Hermione started arranging 'play dates' for their cats. Sometimes Hermione would drop Holmes off in the morning before she left for work and would return to pick him up at the end of the day. Other times they would arrange a play date on a weekend day, and Hermione would stay over and watch them. Dorothea was actually quite gentle despite her immense size. She was very careful when she and Holmes were playing that she did not injure him, something Hermione appreciated. A wild black panther could eat things larger than her little house cat, so Doro could very easily injure him with just a step. Severus said that his cat's carefulness was largely due to her age. Doro wasn't young and spry anymore.

They were careful to make all feline playdates during the day. Neither human wanted to give the other the impression that they were dating, rather that they were becoming good friends. Severus found that he actually enjoyed her company. They would read or discuss journals while watching the cats play. Hermione was a very capable cook and took over his kitchen for lunch on the days she was there. She would accept the help of his House Elf but refused to let Doory do much of the work. She was working on convincing Severus to send Doory to Hogwarts. Doory was one who actually like waiting on people and was treated very kindly by her master. Hermione thought, though, that Doory might be lonely, lacking the company of other house elves. Severus could very well manage to keep his own house, and he was competent enough in the kitchen to prepare his own meals. He just liked being able to tinker all day in his Potions lab and know that the house was well taken care of.

On two occasions, Severus had allowed Hermione entrance to his personal lab. The room was as clean and sterile as an operating chamber at St. Mungo's. An array of cauldrons hung neatly on the far wall, arranged by size and composition. Ingredients lined the back wall of the room. Each ingredient was neatly labeled and filed alphabetically, with the exception of highly dangerous ingredients, which were kept in a separate and smaller set of shelves. It was very much like his organizational system at Hogwarts. He brought her down because they had been discussing Wolfsbane, a potion Severus had been trying to modify. He was trying to find a more effective form, something that would have a much smaller dosage and yet still be as effective as Wolfsbane. It was something he'd been working on since before the Second Vold War, when Remus Lupin had been his test subject and inspiration. Now he was nearing a final version that had reduced the dose from a goblet full of Wolfsbane to a single vial. The potion was simmering on one of three long worktables.

"Severus, this is incredible!" Hermione gasped, peering into the cauldron at the potion.

"It could be quite a medical breakthrough when I finish it. The potency of this version is raised somewhat. It would be strong enough that a werewolf becomes essentially a lazy, pet dog on the full moon. He or she could easily be in the company of others without worry of biting someone. It also dampens their wolf senses of sight, hearing, and smell to make the world less of a scary place." Severus explained.

"How did you do it?" Hermione asked.

"Well, the first step was isolating the individual ingredients. Once I determined what each ingredient was to accomplish within the potion, I was able to successfully substitute similar items with higher potency or at least less mass. After that, I worked on removing the excess water from the potion. I was removing too much water at the beginning and ended up with a rather dangerous and unstable powder. Since then I've been reincorporating liquid until I reach the right balance."

"Do you know what this could mean to all the werewolves out there?" Hermione looked at him, aghast.

"It could end the werewolf stereotype and perhaps even the affliction as a whole, if given time. If all the werewolves are subdued with Wolfsbane during the full moon, they would no longer bite people, thus stopping the creation of new werewolves. Within a generation, the affliction could be banished from Wizarding society."

"If this works, you could sell it to a Wizarding pharmaceutical company…" Hermione started.

"-- who would mass produce it and make me a very rich Wizard. I know, believe me I've thought about the things that this potion could do for me as well" Severus finished.

"What it must be like…" Hermione started, standing against the doorframe. She trailed off into her own mind.

"What it must be like to what, Hermione?" Severus asked.

"To be able to take credit for your achievements. I do amazing things at work every month, but I can't even discuss it, much less take credit for any of it. Oh if I could tell you! The things I've created! Some of them are wonderful!" Hermione said, basking without thinking.

"Hermione, STOP!" Severus shouted, snapping Hermione out of her reverie.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Stop talking about your work. You were getting close to telling me specifics about what you do." Severus said.

"Sweet Merlin that would have been terrible. I- I need to go. I'm sorry. Thank you for stopping me. I-I'll see you later." Hermione said, flustered and nearly running from the room. Severus let her go, knowing she just needed a few minutes to wrap her mind around everything. This was perhaps the first time she had nearly slipped and told someone about her work as an Unspeakable. Everyone had times when they divulged a little too much about work, but for Hermione that could have been a fatal mistake.

No one knew exactly what happened to an Unspeakable who shared too much information, but it was commonly assumed that they died. Severus had heard rumors about horrible instantaneous deaths including melting and bursting into flame. Unfortunately what happens to Unspeakables who speak was one of the first secrets told to new Unspeakables.

Severus rushed out of the lab after Hermione, but she was already gone by the time he got to the door. Doro was standing by the door looking at him inquisitively.

"What? She panicked. I didn't do anything." Severus said, turning away from the door. Doro huffed and headed back to her pillow.

****

Hermione was so incredibly shocked that she almost told Severus about some of the things she has done at work. She had never had problems before with keeping all the secrets, but something just happened. She was worried that it might happen again. She didn't even want to think about what would have happened had Severus not stopped her.

Not being able to claim any credit was one thing that Hermione really didn't like about her job, not that she had ever verbalized it before. Part of her wanted to be a regular freelance researcher so that she could claim her own work. It's not that she was after the vanity or the money associated with great research findings that change the shape of Wizarding humanity, she just wanted to be remembered for her work.

There were many lowly Ministry workers that claimed inability to talk about their jobs to make others think that they did something as important as work within the Department of Mysteries, but mostly they were on the janitorial staff or equally dull postings. Eventually someone would see them at the ministry and the jig would be up, but they were still able to tarnish the occupation that Hermione fulfilled.

Hermione got ready for bed, not knowing if sleep would come for her tonight. Her brain was so full of thoughts, worries, fears, and ideas that she could hardly process everything. She spent hours lying in bed with Holmes by her side, patting him idly while she tried to make sense of all this information.


	9. Chapter 9

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 9

Hermione showed up on Severus' porch the next morning with two large cups of coffee from their local coffee shop.

"Morning." Severus nearly grunted. Hermione handed him one of the coffees.

"I just wanted to apologize for flipping out last night and thank you for stopping me before I talked too much." Hermione said. It was a weekday, so she was dressed for work while Severus was considerably more rumpled in cotton pajama pants and a t-shirt.

"Thanks for the coffee." Severus said, taking a drink. Doro pushed her head around Severus' leg and stretched her neck out until Hermione patted her head.

"Well, I have to get to work. I'll see you later, I suppose." Hermione said, somewhat awkwardly.

"Have a good day, try not to talk too much." Severus replied, smiling slightly at his joke.

Hermione followed respectful Wizarding cultural boundaries and walked down to the sidewalk before Apparating away. Severus turned back into the house, drinking his coffee happily.

********

Hermione was tempted to deal with this issue as she had dealt with many before- throwing herself into work. She finished another project after hundreds of hours spent in the labs over the last few weeks. Rather than start a new project right away, Hermione decided that this latest outburst meant that perhaps she and her brain needed a 'timeout' from the office. Every quarter they were all required to spend a week on physical training. It was intended to keep their bodies fit and their skills prepared for anything that might happen.

For many in her department, the training was a highly dreaded thing that got pushed back until the end of the quarter when it had to be completed. Surprisingly, Hermione worked with people who were even more bookish than herself. She rather looked forward to the physical training portions of her job. She loved researching and testing, but sometimes she just needed to move around for a bit. Plus, due to her experience training for the war and her age, Hermione was better than any of the others at physical challenges.

She never took her week at the end of the quarter with everyone else because she got better practice when it wasn't crowded and didn't have to feel like she was showing off. Hermione planned to request her training when she turned in her latest test results.

Hermione's boss was a semi-jovial man, but he could also be very angry. Mr. Bightly had the best poker face in the business. Unless he was really angry with you, it was nearly impossible to read through his jovial exterior. Hermione showed up at his office door on Friday afternoon with her final results and research arranged to present her findings. This was something they were required to do at the end of each project. They were also required to present their next proposed research topic after significant research. That was pretty much the only time Hermione saw Mr. Bightly.

"Good afternoon, Ms Granger. Please have a seat. I trust you brought the results of your study?" he said, smiling. Hermione walked into the office and took a seat across the desk from Mr. Bightly, handing him her portfolio. She launched into an explanation of her project- the preliminary research, the secondary research, the testing, the findings, the second round of testing and results, the third round of testing a results, the additional research conducted in between each test, and the final product." After almost an hour, she closed her mouth.

Mr. Bightly finished flipping through her documentation and looked up.

"As usual, this is very good work, Ms. Granger. Have you considered your next goal yet?" he asked.

"I was actually hoping, Mr. Bightly, that I might be able to complete my physical training next week before I start another project. I think my mind needs a little bit of a break." Hermione said,

"That's perfectly understandable. I'll approve your physical training for next week. I'll have a schedule for your training on your desk Monday morning, but it should be very similar to last quarter's schedule." Mr. Bightly said. "Since you've finished your presentation, and we have only one hour of scheduled hours left today, why don't you take off a little early?"

"Thank you, sir." Hermione said, standing.

"Enjoy your weekend, Ms Granger." he said as she left.

"Yes, sir. Enjoy yours as well." she replied.

"I certainly will." he said, smiling.

Mr. Bightly didn't know all of what had been going on with his youngest employee lately, but he could tell that her personal life was occupying much more of her time than usual and it was starting to take its toll on her work. He hoped that a week out of the usual routine would allow her the time to address these issues and return to her research the methodical and driven person she had been until this June.

Hermione arrived home at the usual time, even though she got off early. She stopped at the market on the way home to get fully restocked on health food for next week. She walked into the house and put all her groceries away, stopping of course to refill Holmes' food and water bowls.

"PT next week, my feline friend. That means we've both got to keep to our diets, and I've got to do some extra exercise." Hermione said. She stroked her cat's head and jogged upstairs to pull the rest of her workout clothes out. She kept some in her drawers because she was known to run a couple of times a week, but she needed much more on PT weeks. This week she would probably wear a couple of different athletic outfits each day and would wear little non-athletic clothing.

She decided to start with a bang and go for a job right away. When she was a few miles away from home, she heard a something strange. It sounded like a muffled explosion, coming from the direction of her house. She immediately turned around and started running home.

When she turned down the street, she could see that there was a commotion in front of Severus' house. Aurors and Ministry workers were standing all around, gesturing at the house. Some had bubblehead charms in place and were entering the house itself.

"Severus, what happened?" Hermione gasped as she stopped by her neighboring, trying to catch her breath.

"Something went wrong with the potion I was working on. It exploded. There are vapors all over the house, and there has been some physical damage beyond my lab."

"I'm sorry. I know you had a lot of time into that potion." Hermione said. "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I'm okay, so is Doro. Do you think you could take her back to your house for a while? She doesn't handle crowds well and is a little freaked out right now." Severus asked, gesturing to the cat, which was sitting stiffly on the sidewalk beside him.

"Sure, that's not a problem at all." Hermione replied. She knelt down to stroke Doro's head. The cat turned to face her and inclined her head to be touched. Hermione could see the lingering fear in her eyes. Accidents were usually much worse for animals who had no idea what happened." Hermione took the thick leather leash from Severus and coaxed Doro back to her home.

The panther spent the evening being cuddled and consoled by Hermione and Holmes. By the time Severus came back at nearly midnight, she was approaching normal again. Severus, on the other hand, looked exhausted.

"Hi." he said when Hermione answered the door. She let him in immediately.

"What's the verdict?" she asked.

"They can fix the house, but it will take a couple of weeks. Doro and I have to find somewhere else to stay for a while." he replied. "How is Doro?"

"She's calmed down now. She and Holmes are in the living room." Hermione replied. Severus walked to go check on his cat.

"We'd better get going. It's going to take a while to find a hotel that will allow us both to stay." Severus said, grabbing Doro's leash from the end table.

"It's late and you're exhausted. Why don't you stay here? I have a guest room that nicely equipped.

"I hope you were serious about that offer, because I'm far too tired to decline it. We can look for somewhere to go in the morning." Severus said, sitting down on the couch.

"You're welcome to stay." Hermione said, sitting down beside him.

"They figured out how the explosion happened." Severus said. He paused, but Hermione didn't say anything. "The cauldron overheated. It took me months to get to that stage, and then I go and let the cauldron overheat." He sounded furious with himself. Hermione couldn't fight the urge any longer and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. Accidents happen. No one got hurt, and you can start over. This time you'll get it right" she said quietly. Severus turned around and surprised her. He gave her a hug. She hugged him back, and they just sat there for a few minutes, wrapped up in each other's arms. Hermione found that she didn't mind hugging her former Potions Master and more recent friend.

Severus released her when his brain realized what his body was doing.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I lost my head there for a second."

"It's fine. Why don't I show you which room is yours." Hermione said. She led him upstairs and to the door of the guest room. Doro had followed them. She seemed to say that it was time to go to bed.

"Thank you, Hermione. We've had a long day, so I think Doro and I are just going to go to bed." he said.

"Goodnight, Severus."

"Goodnight, Hermione."

The man and his panther entered their temporary refuge, while Hermione headed back downstairs to fetch Holmes and douse lights. It was past her bedtime as well.


	10. Chapter 10

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 10

The next morning Hermione woke at five am for her morning run. She didn't like getting up so early in the morning, but she liked the extra hours of productivity she gained once she was up and about. Holmes, however, preferred to ignore her early in the morning.

The house was dark and quiet when she slipped out the front door. She stretched on the porch, enjoying the slight breeze and the stillness that was the wee hours of the morning. As she ran, Hermione noted that the whole street seemed to be asleep. If she weren't combat trained, she'd be a little frightened to be out alone. But she was combat trained and armed.

She got back about an hour and a half later to find that things had changed in the house. Doro was lounging on the landing, and there were sounds in the kitchen. Hermione walked through her house to find Severus cooking. He looked fairly at home in the kitchen, but she supposed, it wasn't too different from a potions lab.

"Need any help?" Hermione asked. She could tell by the change in Severus' demeanor that she had startled him.

"No, I just thought I'd get up early and make breakfast to thank you for letting me stay here last night." Severus said, without turning. He cracked another egg into the bowl and turned. Hermione suddenly felt very self-conscious in her sweaty running clothes as she felt him looking at her. "Do you always go running this early in the morning?"

"No, just this week. I'm doing physical training for work, so early morning runs are just a part of the routine." Hermione said, laughing nervously. Severus just nodded and turned back to the stove. "Uh- do I have time to shower before breakfast?" she asked.

"The food will not be ready for another twelve or fifteen minutes if that's what you are asking. I can make it longer if needed." Severus said mechanically.

"No that's plenty of time." Hermione said, dashing back upstairs to clean up. Her shower that morning was really to rinse the sweat off more than anything else. She would have another shower this evening after a day full of training and probably another run. She rinsed herself quickly, changed into fresh workout clothing, and headed back downstairs just as Severus was plating heaping piles of scrambled eggs onto plates with turkey bacon and whole-wheat toast. There was a large bowl of sliced fruits already on the table with the tea.

"Wow! This looks amazing! Thank you." Hermione gasped, sliding into her usual place at the table. Severus set down her plate and place himself elegantly in the place across from her. They ate in silence. When she finished, Hermione loaded her plate into the Muggle dishwasher she had installed.

"Thank you for breakfast Severus. I've got to get off to work; I'll be back late this afternoon. If you leave and need to come back, just take the spare key on the hook by the door." Hermione said, walking back toward the door. It was almost 8am by this point, and Hermione really needed to get to work.

"Thank you." Severus said quietly after he heard the front door shut. He had slept really well last night and felt strangely comfortable surrounded by Hermione's things. It should make a person feel strange to be alone in someone else's house- like an invader. Severus didn't feel like an intruder here at all. He got the cat food out from where he had found it earlier and fed Holmes, who had come downstairs finally.

After he cleaned up the kitchen, Severus went back upstairs to get ready for his day. He had to check with the crew that was working on his house and start looking for a place where he and Doro could stay. He couldn't impose on Hermione's generosity any longer. When he got into the shower, Severus realized that he didn't have any soap, a vital part of any decent shower. There wasn't any extra in his bathroom, but Severus figured he was probably the first houseguest she'd had.

When he first arrived, Hermione brought an armload of supplies from another room. Severus figured he could find that stash and get some soap. That way he could still get clean and avoid having an awkward moment with Hermione. He walked down the hallway toward Hermione's room, knowing she had come from that direction.

The first door he opened was to the smallest bedroom, which appeared to be a storage area. Unless he wanted a Christmas tree or some Easter baskets this wasn't the right room. The other option was Hermione's bedroom. He was a little wary of walking into a woman's bedroom uninvited, but he reminded himself that she wasn't home and wouldn't return for hours. Slowly, he pushed open the door.

Her room was very simple and tidy. Everything was decorated in Earthy colors. She had a bed, two nightstands, a bureau and a dresser. In a corner by the window was an armchair that had a blanket draped lazily across it and a book. Severus resisted the urge to go check out what she was reading, reminding himself that he was here to get soap. He opened the bathroom door a little more confidently. The bathroom was white and blue; it was also very clean. There were still wet footprints on the shower mat where Hermione had stepped out of the shower earlier.

Severus walked to the side cabinet and opened it to reveal a stash of toiletries, including several bars of soap. He chose one that didn't sound as though it would smell like flowers. Cracking the paper and taking a whiff, he verified that it was just a basic clean scent. Severus remembered that he didn't smell so good, and he closed the cabinet and headed back to his room at the other end of the hallway. It was very helpful to be a guest of someone who had the same type of house as you. There were slight differences, but nothing so far that was a real structural shocker when compared to his home or Basil's house.

Hermione spent the day in hand-to-hand combat training. It was grueling, but not as grueling as a real altercation could be. Though real altercations didn't generally last for hours and hours. Hermione was exhausted by the time she was able to go home. She was glad she ran in the morning, because it definitely wasn't happening tonight.

Hermione arrived home to find that her house smelled amazing. She resisted the urge to follow her nose, heading upstairs instead for a much-needed shower and change of clothes.

"What are you making?" Hermione asked when she entered the kitchen, her hair still wet from her shower.

"I thought stir-fry sounded good tonight." Severus replied.

"It certainly does sound good; smells good too." Hermione replied, laughing a little. Severus tensed a little. He quickly plated their dinners and handed a dish to Hermione.

"I must admit, Severus, I could get used to having you around to cook all my meals for me." Hermione said, digging into the steaming stir-fry on her plate. It was delicious.

"So how was your day?" Hermione asked, when they moved from the kitchen to the living room. Hermione was curled up in an armchair while Severus sat on the couch.

"Not as good as I had hoped. The work crew estimates it will take two or three weeks to repair my house, and I wasn't able to find somewhere else to go yet. I haven't given up though." Severus said.

"Well, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you need to. I'm got the space, and it's not any trouble at all." she replied.

"I may just have to take you up on that," Severus responded, "From here I can really keep an eye on that lot working on my house."

That evening they sat in the living room in silence, both engrossed in their separate books. Doro lay on the floor near Hermione while Holmes was perched on the back of the couch where Severus sat.

After several hours of reading, Severus yawned and decided it was time for bed. He couldn't believe Hermione was still awake, since she was up earlier than he and had a very physical day. He closed his book and stretched to see that Hermione was indeed asleep in the chair, her book resting in her lap with her hand marking the page.

Severus gingerly took the book from her hand, marked the page with her bookmark, and set the book on the side table. Doro rose when he walked near. He cautiously lifted a hand a shook Hermione's arm gently. It usually wasn't a good thing to disturb the sleep of someone with battle reflexes. He knew personally that he had been woken several times to find himself holding a wand to someone's throat. Alas, Hermione just sighed and shifted a little. She was clearly deeply asleep.

Part of him was tempted to leave her there, asleep in her chair. Surely at some point during the night she would wake and go to bed. Another part of him knew that she would wake very sore and stiff from sleeping in that position. He stepped back a little and plotted the logistics. He was hardly a strong man, but he could probably manage to carry her. The stairs would be the tricky part. He could have just performed a locomotor mortis spell, but then he would probably bump her into things inadvertently.

With a sigh, Severus decided to carry her. He knelt down remembering to lift with his legs, not his back. She really wasn't as heavy as he had anticipated, not that she was light either. He awkwardly tried to settle her into a more comfortable position for him to carry. Hermione sighed and nestled her head into his shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

He carried her up the stairs trying not to think about the softness of her skin or how fabulous she smelled or the fact that he was carrying a beautiful young woman to bed. After what felt like an eternity to Severus' brain, he made it to her bedroom. Holmes was curled up one pillow already. Gently, Severus laid her on the smooth cotton sheets. She rolled to her side and curled up a little instinctively.

"Good night, Hermione." Severus whispered. He slipped back out the door.

"Good night, Severus." Hermione whispered sleepily to the empty room.


	11. Chapter 11

AN: Sorry for the long delay between chapters. I've been running around on various vacations.

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 11

Hermione awoke the next morning just a little confused. First off, she must have forgotten to set her alarm last night because it was already six o'clock in the morning. Secondly, she was lying on top of her bedding wearing the sweat pants and t-shirt she had on last night, not her usual pajamas. Part of her remembered being tucked into bed last night, but it seemed rather like a dream. Oh well, no time to dwell on it.

After her usual morning routine, Hermione went downstairs. She figured she'd make breakfast today. She was just taking buckwheat hotcakes off the griddle when Severus came downstairs. He headed straight for the coffee pot and poured a large cup of coffee- black of course. Hermione set down two plates of hotcakes. She grabbed a small plate of turkey sausages she had cook earlier out of the oven and a bowl of fresh strawberries from the refrigerator.

They munched on breakfast not discussing the previous evening at all.

"What's on your agenda for today?" Hermione asked.

"Supervising the dunderheads working on my house, renting a storage unit for things that can be saved from the house, and chess with Basil." Severus replied. He wasn't much of a talker, but he really didn't want to tick her off since Hermione was letting him stay there. "You?"

"Well, I still have to run today, and I have weapons training." she responded.

"Why is it that you can't talk about work without horrible consequences, but you can talk about this?" he asked, now genuinely curious.

"It's a fine line. I'm allowed to talk in vague terms about what I did on any given day, just not anything specific. I can say that I did research or I ran tests or I gave a presentation or I attended a meeting. I just can't get any more specific than that."

"So why is it that most people in your profession opt to say nothing at all?"

"I think it's a matter of opinion. Some people consider it cruel to only give such vague information. Others don't trust themselves to be able to stop at I ran tests and not reveal what the tests were about and whether or not they were successful." Hermione explained. "Most people, when first hired, choose not to say anything at all for fear they'll say too much. I had been working for three years before I even started using the vague terms."

"And no one has pressed you for more information?" Severus asked.

"No, but it's surprising how little people actually care. Everyone asks how your day was, but most people don't really care what your answer is. Most of my non-work friends wouldn't really understand what I did anyway, so they are happy that I can only say that I had a rather dull day doing research." Severus nodded in understanding.

"What about the day when your experiment finally works? Isn't it hard not to tell people then?"

"Absolutely, that's the hardest day. Usually a group of us will stay late after work and celebrate together in the place where we can talk about it. I'm allowed to talk about what I'm doing with my colleagues. We're actually a pretty close department, and I think the secrecy is the reason why. We have to go seek out and talk to our colleagues because we can't talk to anyone else."

"Makes sense." Severus said. The grandfather clock in the living room started to chime 7 bells.

"Oh Merlin, I've got to hurry or I'm going to be late!" Hermione said, she jumped up from the table and started running water in the sink.

"You go; I'll clean up." Severus said. Hermione thanked him and practically ran out the door.

For the rest of the week, everything was normal. Hermione went about her usual routine. Severus supervised the work crew and even managed to stop in to see Basil once.

"So how are you two managing to live together?" Basil asked, moving a chess piece.

"It's not that difficult really. She's gone most of the day anyway. I just try to avoid stepping on any toes while going about my business. We're only there together for breakfast, dinner, and a few waking hours in the evening."

"She usually works 10 or 11 hour days; I've noticed that. She may not be able to keep up that pace for a long time though." Basil said.

"Check." Severus replied. "She seems to be doing fine."

"I just worry too much. She's a very nice girl, and I'd hate to see anything bad happen to her. She's got to be exhausted keeping up that pace."

"Checkmate." Severus said, making his final move. "I'm sure she can handle it. This is, after all, her chosen profession." Basil just sighed.

"It looks as though you've beaten me again, my friend."

"It wasn't that hard today, Baz. To be honest, you play much better when your mind is on the game. Well, I must be going; I've got to go check on the crew repairing my house then start working on dinner." Severus replied.

"My dear boy, you're starting to sound like a happy housewife." Basil replied, laughing slightly.

"Har har. Have your laugh, old man. Hermione is doing me a great kindness allowing me to stay in her home. The least I could do it help out with food and chores." Severus said before swooping dramatically out the door.

An hour later Severus was slicing vegetables for soup. He wasn't the best cook in the world, but he hadn't heard any complaints yet. Hermione usually was so tired when she came back that she eagerly and happily ate anything he had prepared. Still, Severus longed for the delicious meals of Hogwarts.

At eight o'clock when Hermione had still not returned, Severus started to worry. He wondered if he should ask after her, but he didn't know whom to contact. He couldn't imagine Flooing the Potters because his host had not returned. He resolved to wait for her; perhaps she had been delayed leaving work. While it was unusual for her to work this late into the evening since he'd been living here, it wasn't entirely unheard of.

Severus was ensconced in the living room in the late evening when he heard the front door close and hurried footsteps up the stairs. There was an urgency in the whole thing that caused Severus to follow.

Of all the things he had expected to see upstairs, Ginny Potter rummaging through Hermione's bathroom cabinet was far from the top of the list.

"Mrs. Potter. what exactly are you doing?" he asked from the doorway.

"Oh Professor, I forgot you were staying here. Listen, do you know if Hermione takes any potions or pills on a regular basis?"

"I've not seen her take anything. Why are you asking me odd questions and what are you doing?" he reiterated.

"I'm sorry, sir, I'm just a little flustered that's all. Hermione was taken to St. Mungo's this evening with serious injuries. Her supervisor Flooed Harry to tell him that they were taking her. He's gone to the hospital, but he asked me to come here and look for any medications, medical information, and clothing Hermione might need while in the hospital." Ginny said, the words flying out of her mouth at a dizzying pace. She finished with the bathroom cabinet and flew past Severus into Hermione's room, digging through her bureau. She stuffed socks and pajamas by the handful into a large bag. Severus grabbed Hermione's pale green robe from the back of her chair and added it to the pile.

"Why did they call Potter?" he asked.

"Well, since Hermione has no blood family left, she always lists Harry as her next of kin. She used to be his as well until he and I got married. They consider themselves honorary siblings." Ginny said, gathering up all of the items.

"Are you going to the hospital now? I'm going with you." Severus said.


	12. Chapter 12

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 12

Arriving at the hospital only took a moment, but it took quite a few more moments to work their way back to Hermione's room. They didn't know the nature of Hermione's injuries, so they couldn't go inquire at the proper floor. They headed to the main information desk to search for Hermione by name alone.

"Excuse me. We're looking for our friend Hermione Granger. She was brought here about two hours ago."

"Your name and relation to the patient?" the grumpy witch replied.

"Ginny Potter, I'm a close friend and the wife of her next-of-kin. This is Severus Snape, her former teacher, friend, and housemate." Ginny said. The witch stared at them for a moment.

"I'll have one of the Healers take you up. It will just be a moment." the witch said, waving her wand and sending a missive down the corridor.

"That won't be necessary. If you would just tell us what floor she is being treated on, I'm sure we can find her." Severus said, gruffly. He didn't like to wait, and they had already waited a few minutes just to talk to this witch.

"It will just be a moment, Mr. Snape." she replied dismissively.

Snape shot her a glare that caused students to dissolve into a pile of incompetence. She resolutely ignored him, returning to organizing a stack of scrolls. Ginny shrugged at him and moved over near the door.

In just a couple of minutes, a young Healer arrived in the room. He walked up the information desk witch who pointed toward Severus and Ginny.

"Mrs. Potter, Mr. Snape?" he asked. "My name is Healer Jenkins."

"Are you here to take us to our friend?" Ginny asked politely.

"I am. I'm sorry for the extra hassle, but your friend is in a restricted ward. We cannot allow hospital visitors to travel to that ward without hospital supervision. It's a security issue." the Healer responded, gesturing for them to follow him down the corridor.

"Why is she being held in a high security ward?" Severus asked gruffly. The Healer looked appropriately wary of him, reassuring Severus that he was indeed not losing his touch.

"I trust you are aware of Miss Granger's occupation?" he questioned. They both nodded. "We keep a special secret ward for people of her position and others that the Ministry determines security risks. They have extra restrictions on their care."

"Such as?" Ginny asked.

"Well, we aren't allowed to put any patient of that ward under anesthesia without a high-ranking Ministry official present and staffing composed entirely of Healers with the highest security clearance." the young Healer explained. Ginny looked at Severus, confused.

"In case they mention any top secret information in their delirium." Severus explained quietly. Ginny nodded.

The Healer led them onto a back elevator. He didn't press any buttons but waited for the door to shut completely before he pulled a small key from his uniform and unlocked a small door on the elevator. The door revealed a sixth elevator button, which the Healer pressed before relocking the door.

They waited for a few seconds longer on the elevator before the doors opened. The Healer led them to a desk immediately inside the corridor. A stern-looking wizard sat at a desk.

"Mrs. Ginevra Weasley Potter and Mr. Severus Snape here to visit Granger, patient 11." the Healer said. The wizard scribbled into a book for a moment before nodding. The young Healer waved for them to follow as he led them down the corridor.

The pomp of this place was really starting to irritate Severus. He hated jumping through hoops for anyone. He had served too many masters in his days to be happy obeying anyone, much less the pile of bureaucratic incompetence he'd been forced to endure since he entered the hospital. Severus reflected though, that this was the only way he would be able to see Hermione, who was obviously better guarded than the crown jewels.

Severus personally hated hospitals. They were miserable places that he was certain delayed the healing of many. The ill and infirmed were almost always better off in the comfort of their own homes. He refused to allow Poppy to treat him even in the school infirmary when he was ill or injured. Moreover, he hated the constant intrusion of people. First there were the hospital staff who, while often well meaning, poked, prodded, and postulated more than could be considered strictly necessary. Then there was an endless parade of visitors. Few would deign to visit a mere acquaintance in their own homes, but being confined to hospital chambers was like having a welcome mat constantly. People who would usually never speak to him within a calendar year would turn up at his door inquiring into his health like they were the best of friends. It was a tiresome experience he was loathe to repeat.

Severus assured himself though that he was justified in visiting Hermione. They were, technically, living together. It was natural that he felt the need to reassure himself of her recovery. While it was still a rather odd sort of attachment, he considered them to be somewhat of friends. If she was well and did not require any assistance of him, he would return to her home and look after her cat until her release without again visiting this place.

As much as Severus hated the institution he had to admit that what they passed was amazing. It was like a miniature hospital in this secret ward. There was a trauma room, an operating room, several supply rooms, and a few dozen patient rooms. For secrecy purposes, the patients were kept in entirely separate rooms, the doors to which were always shut and locked. There were no nameplates on these doors, just large brass numbers. The Healer led them to the number 11 room. He knocked on the door and waited a moment. A slightly disheveled looking Harry opened the door.

"Sir, could you please identify and approve these visitors?" the Healer asked.

"This is Ginevra Potter, my wife, and Severus Snape, a friend of the patient's. They are allowed entrance. Please place them on the approved visitor list." Harry said, wearily. He stepped to the side to allow Ginny and Severus to enter the room.

"Yes sir. We shall have that done presently. I'll also have the hospital cafeteria send up dinner trays."

"Thank you, Healer Jenkins." Harry said. He shut the door again and turned back to his wife and former professor.

"How is she, Harry?" Ginny asked.

"She's not conscious yet, but her condition seems stable at the moment." Harry replied.

"What is her treatment plan?" Severus asked.

"Right now, no one is sure what happened, so her symptoms are being treated as they appear. We can only hope that she will have some idea of what happened." Harry said. He led them farther into the room to where Hermione rested in her bed. It looked as though she were resting peacefully except her brow was beaded with sweat and her skin was a remarkable shade of purple. Harry dipped a washrag into a container of cool water and carefully mopped her brow.

"This is amazing security in this ward." Severus said, trying to eliminate the oddity of their little group with some meaningless small talk. It was a bit of a nervous habit. He took a seat on the other side of Hermione's bed while Ginny unpacked the bag of Hermione's possessions into the bureau.

"Gin, did you find any medications?" Harry asked.

"Nothing less than a year old, I'm afraid. If she has been taking anything, we weren't able to find it." Ginny replied; she took a seat beside her husband. "You look exhausted."

"I feel exhausted, but I can't leave her here alone. She's going to wake up sometime, and she shouldn't be alone when that happens." Harry said stretching his arms against the rail of the bed.

A Healer came into the room at that point, causing Harry to check his watch. He nodded to the woman.

"Mr. Potter, did you succeed in gathering more information for us?" she asked.

"There were no medications found in her home, and no one knows of her taking anything regularly. Her supervisor has not responded yet if he found anything at her work station." Harry responded.

"I suppose he has rather a lot to do right now with accident cleanup and the investigation. Has she made any visible changes in the last two hours?"

"No, she's still unconscious and unresponsive. She's still having fever sweats. No new symptoms." Harry responded.

"Very well, we'll proceed with treatment then." the Healer said. She stepped forward and scanned Hermione's body with her wand, recording all of her vital information. The Healer then applied two layers of magical protection to her own hands before removing a jar of cream. She coated Hermione's face and neck in the thick paste. She then applied the paste to Hermione's arms and legs. Severus noted that the reaction only affected the skin that was exposed during the accident. Her arms were only purple below he elbow and her legs were only affected below the knee.

"Someone will return to take another report in two hours time. Please alert us immediately if she develops a new symptom, something changes, or that paste has not disappeared in 15 minutes." the Healer said before leaving the room again.

Around the time the paste was finished absorbing into Hermione's skin, Healer Jenkins had returned with three dinner trays. The odd little group ate in silence, all watching Hermione.

A couple of hours later, Harry was lounging his head against the wall sleepily. When the Healer came in, Harry merely shook his head and murmured, "No changes." The Healer nodded and repeated the same routine as had been done previously with the addition of a dose of fever reducing potion. When the Healer left, Severus surveyed the tired looking couple.

"Why don't you two go home and get some rest. I can stay here with Hermione. I've nothing pressing to do until morning when the cats need fed." Severus said. Harry and Ginny looked at each other for a moment.

"Okay, professor. We're going to take you up on that offer before you change your mind. One of us will be back in six or seven hours." Harry said, hauling himself from the chair before helping Ginny up.

"Thank you professor." Ginny murmured as they walked out the door. Severus watched her for a few minutes before getting up to wipe the sweat from her brow. His arm brushed hers, and he could feel the heat radiating from her body.

"It's going to be okay, Hermione. You won't be left alone, and you'll be well soon." he murmured, not certain who he was talking to or if she could even hear him.


	13. Chapter 13

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 13

Harry came to relieve him, as promised at 9am. It looked like a night's sleep had down the younger wizard some good. Hermione still hadn't made any changes, even though Severus had sat all night at her bedside tending to her every imaginable need. Severus went back to Hermione's house. He fed the cats and slept for a few hours, but then he was kind of lost as to what to do.

Severus was used to being alone a lot, but he usually had a Potions lab to occupy him with research and testing, as well as producing the myriad of potions, powders, and creams that Madam Pomfrey required in the hospital wing each school term. However, since a Potions lab accident was what had caused the damage to his own home, he hadn't even asked Hermione for some temporary lab space here.

While his house was still far from livable, Severus was able to pick his way through the wreckage to his living room, where he selected a few likely reference books. He had never seen someone with the type of injuries Hermione had sustained, so he was anxious to research as much as he could. He had to look for something that could cause fever and something that could react in a way that dyes skin purple. These may or may not be caused by the same spell, potion, or combination.

In the late afternoon, after having exhausted his collection to no avail, Severus packed up some materials and went back to the hospital. He didn't know why, but he just really wanted to help take care of Hermione. Last night he got to feel the boredom of a hospital room, so this evening he carried along a couple of books to read in between brow mopping and status checks.

Getting up to the room was much less of an ordeal than last night. He told the information desk witch, a different one from last night, his name and requested an escort to the 6th floor. Within a few minutes, a Healer came along and took him upstairs.

He walked into the room to find Ginny sitting there, reading the newspaper aloud.

"Good evening, Mrs. Potter." he greeted politely.

"Good evening, Professor Snape." Ginny replied, folding her newspaper.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Her fever has gone down some and her skin is a little lighter in color, but she's still not conscious. The Healers said she is starting to show reaction to things though, which is a good sign that consciousness will come soon." Ginny said, hopefully. "Are you staying for the evening shift?"

"That was my plan unless you and Potter had worked out something else." Severus sneered, hoping they hadn't.

"Well, Harry was going to come back, but he'll be glad that he can sleep at home tonight and not have to worry about her being alone. We really do appreciate it, and I'm sure Hermione would appreciate it too if she were awake." Ginny said. She packed up her belongings. As she was heading out the door, Severus stopped her.

"Wait! You were reading to her. Can she hear?" he asked.

Ginny shrugged. "The Healers say it's possible since she is becoming more, but we don't know for sure. It certainly is a good way to relieve some of the monotony of being here though. Would you like the paper?" she asked, moving to grab it from her bag.

"Oh, no thank you. I've brought reading materials of my own."

"One new thing before I leave. If she opens her mouth, put a little bit of water on her lower lip- just a little mind you." Ginny said. She surveyed her former professor briefly before scurrying out the door.

Hermione was propped up on pillows to simulate a more reclined position. Still, her eyes were closed and her breathing regular. Severus settled in for the evening. He had just begun to read when he heard a very small sigh. He looked up suddenly to find that Hermione's mouth was slightly open. Remembering Ginny's instructions, he dipped the tips of his fingers in the water dish and dropped some of the water onto Hermione's lower lip. He then watched in amazement as her mouth closed again.

"Hermione?" he said quietly. There was no answer, not that he was really expecting one. He was tempted to probe her mind for clues, but he knew that was dangerous to both him and her. He sat back again.

In about an hour, a new healer wearing the pale blue garments of an apprentice entered the room to conduct Hermione's examination. He scanned her body quickly with his wand. He squeezed her face to pull her jaw open and poured the fever-reducing potion down her throat. When he turned to grab the paste, Severus jumped to his feet. He lifted Hermione's torso slightly and gently rubbed her neck.

"Imbecile! What is your name, boy?" he growled, still rubbing.

"H-Healer trainee Staub, sir." the young wizard stuttered.

"Is this your first day, Healer trainee Staub?" he sneered, checking Hermione's throat.

"No, sir." he responded.

"Then you should know that you don't administer a potion of any type to an unconscious patient without seeing that it is swallowed completely, something they rarely do on their own." Severus barked.

"Sir?" the healer said.

"If I hadn't been here to tend to her, this witch could have drowned had the potion encumbered her breathing. Or, if we were lucky, she would have holes burned in her esophagus from the puddle of potion. If either of those had happened, you would certainly have been sacked for further injuring or killing a decorated war hero. Do you have any idea who this is?" Snape lectured. The young healer checked his clipboard.

"P-patient 11, sir." he stumbled.

"This is, for your information, Hermione bloody Granger!" Severus barked.

"Oh Merlin! I didn't know. Honestly, I didn't know." the young Healer gasped, shaking his head.

"Now you do. Give me the salve and get out. Tell your supervisor I expect to be speaking to him or her in no more than fifteen minutes and I will be timing."

The Healer handed him a jar of salve and backed hurriedly out the door. Severus took a deep breath to calm himself. He then sterilized and protected his hands before he began applying the salve to Hermione's lilac skin.

Fourteen minutes later the idiotic young Healer was back, accompanied by a wizard who was none other than Neville Longbottom. Snape laughed.

"I should have known that you, Mr. Longbottom would be in charge for this dunderhead."

"Good evening, professor. I understand that Mr. Staub here has failed to follow proper procedure in administering medication. I can assure you that Mr. Staub will be accompanied on further rounds this evening by an experienced Healer, and he will have to repeat that lesson. If you would like, I can have him removed from service of Patient 11, whom I hope has met no harm in the encounter." Neville said, bureaucratically.

"Longbottom, have you happened to look at who Patient 11 is?" Snape sneered, "I think your carefully composed attitude might be affected in the knowing." he stepped away from the bed as Neville's head turned.

"Merlin, Hermione!" he gasped. He took the clipboard from the trainee Healer and promptly whacked him with it. "You nearly killed a very dear friend of mine with your ignorance. If you daydreamed through any other lessons during your training you had better say so now. I'm not opposed to making you repeat the entire year." Neville snarled. Severus was almost taken aback at his reaction.

Neville approached the bed and peered at Hermione. "What happened to her?" he asked softly.

"No one knows, and we're unlikely to figure it out while she's still unconscious." Severus explained.

A moment later, Neville was summoned on to another patient, leaving Severus alone with Hermione again. For the rest of the night, Severus refused to allow the Healers to do anything other than check Hermione's vitals. He alone administered her medications and treatments. The hospital staff didn't quarrel with him. Half of them had been his students and were wary of his wrath. The other half recognized that as a Potions Master he was more than qualified to administer her treatments.

Harry appeared at 8am sharp to relieve him.

"How is she?" he asked.

"She is the same, but I have my doubts about the medical staff here. They need to be watched closely." Severus snarled, still a little angry.

"What happened?" Harrry asked, concerned. Severus filled him in on the events of the night. Harry's scowl grew larger and larger as the story continued. "I'm glad you were here to address it. Those who cannot speak for themselves need an advocate. I cannot allow Hermione to be disrespected in this way. That Healer will have to be banned from her case, as will perhaps all the other trainees without proper supervision. You wielded your fury well, so it's time for me to use my legal responsibilities and my name to address this. Thank you for telling me." Harry said, his mouth set in a grim line. He hit the call button above Hermione's bed and told the nurse that he wanted to see the Head Healer on Hermione's case as soon as she was in.

AN: No worries, she will start getting better soon, but it's not worth putting her in the hospital if I'm not going to milk it for a few chapters.


	14. Chapter 14

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 14

Hermione felt awful. Her skin itched fiercely and her body felt as though it were on fire. In addition to all this, her leg ached severely. Part of her counted all these things as good, since it meant she wasn't dead. She hadn't mustered the strength to open her eyes to see where she was, but she could feel another presence in the room. She could hear relaxed breathing, which settled her nerves a little.

Slowly, Hermione tried experimental moving. Her body felt so incredibly heavy, as though she hadn't moved in quite a while. She experimentally tried to wiggle her toes. Those on her left foot felt fine, but trying to move her right foot caused so much pain that Hermione inadvertently hissed.

Immediately, she felt the energy in the room change.

"Hermione?" she heard, it was Ginny. She could feel the brush of her shirt as the witch leaned over the bed. "Hermione, can you hear me? I'm calling the Healers now." She could hear the fear and worry in Ginny's voice, and she wanted to calm her friend.

Within seconds the room was full of people running tests and murmuring. Hermione could feel Ginny's smooth, cool hand in hers. With great effort, she turned her head to that side. The pain in her head was excruciating, she hissed again.

"Her head! There's something wrong with her head!" Ginny called. The Healers bustled around her head like flies in her ears. Someone pressed a vial to her lips. She drank from it, tasting a strong headache potion. Almost instantly, the pain in her head faded. She opened her eyes just a little to find Ginny's tear-strewn face looking down at her. As the white-coated Healers bustled around, she tried to focus on Ginny's face. She squeezed her friend's hand gently.

"M'ok, Gin." she mumbled. Her voice crackled with disuse.

"Oh Merlin, Hermione. I'm so glad you're awake." Ginny smiled through her tears.

"Harry?" Hermione inquired, hoping Ginny got her meaning. Talking required more effort than she thought.

"Harry. Oh my, he's not here right now, but I promised to Floo him if anything changed. I will be right back, Hermione. I'll be right back."

The Healers checked her eyes and her reflexes. One asked her a series of simple questions- her name, her age, the month, the name of the Minister of Magic, where she lives, her parents' names, Ginny's name, her next-of-kin. All this information was on the information sheet, she was sure. They were just checking to see how well her mind worked. Hermione answered all of their questions.

The Healers had started to leave the room when Hermione remembered what had alerted them to her consciousness in the first place. She lifted a hand to draw the attention of the nearest Healer, a young woman.

"You're going to be just fine, ma'am. There's an excellent team working on your case." the Healer said calmly.

"My…leg." Hermione whispered. She'd only been awake for a few minutes and she was exhausted.

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear you. Can you say it again?" the Healer said, bending closer. She lifted a hand to quiet the other Healers.

"Something's wrong with my leg." Hermione whispered.

"Check her legs!" the Healer ordered, "She says there's something wrong with her leg." The bustling moved to the lower half of her body as the Healers examined both of her legs.

"Healer Smith, you'd better come see this." one of them said as he held the offending limb. The witch moved to examine that limb. She sighed, jotted some notes, and ordered a pain-relieving potion for Hermione. After she took it, she asked the novice Healer for some water, which was promptly delivered.

Ginny came back into the room with Harry right behind her. He walked right to Hermione's head and looked at her.

"It's good to see you awake. How are you feeling?" he asked her.

"Dumb question." Hermione responded quietly. She wondered why people always asked that question in doctor's offices and hospitals. Obviously if she were feeling well, she'd be somewhere else.

Harry laughed. "You're right. That was a dumb question." He kissed her head and smoothed out her hair.

"Alright, Healers and novices, I need everyone out so that I may speak to the patient and her family alone, please." the female Healer announced. The others obediently followed her direction. When the last one was out the door, she shut it and turned to Hermione. "Good afternoon, Miss Granger. My name is Sadie Barnes and I am the lead Healer on your case. You've certainly had a whirlwind of experience the last ten minutes. I must caution you not to talk about your accident in the presence of others without high-level clearance. Your supervisor will be here in a few hours with an Auror to take a statement. I have clearance, so you may tell me anything you feel pertinent to your case. Now, bearing in mind that the Potter's are in the room, do you have any questions for me?" the woman asked.

"How long have I been here?" she asked.

"Ten days. You've been unconscious the entire time." the Healer responded.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked.

"Well, I can't go into too much detail at the moment, but you've been in an accident. We're hoping you can remember the details of the accident. Right now you've got some skin discoloration that is rapidly clearing up with regular application of healing slave. You sustained a mild concussion, which should now be gone. You also appear to have sustained some internal damage to your right leg, the extent of which we will determine through further examination." the Healer responded.

"When will you know?" Hermione asked nervously.

"I can do the examination now, if you'd like." Healer Barnes said. Hermione nodded her head.

Harry and Ginny sat beside each other watching as Hermione's leg examination progressed. Harry reflected that it was surprisingly Muggle testing. The startling determination was that Hermione had received nerve damage around her knee significant enough to lessen her ability to feel things below the knee. She could still move everything, but it required greater concentration than before.

"Good news, Miss Granger. You will be able to walk again. You may require some assistance at first until the strength builds up in that leg again, but you will walk. Unfortunately you will not be able to engage in any sports or activities that require quick movements of the leg because your reflexes are slowed. This includes dueling, fencing, sack racing, stilt walking, most Muggle sports, and running. You will not be able to do any heavy lifting. I also do not advise that you sit on anything lower than the common chair without someone around to assist you when you rise, as your lower leg will not be able to support itself well.

Hermione was greatly upset by the news, but she didn't want to talk about it until she knew for sure. She had a sinking suspicion though, that her supervisor was not going to like this.

Harry and Ginny were ushered out of the room a few minutes later when Hermione's supervisor arrived with the Auror in charge of her accident report. It took so long that Ginny transfigured her bag and Harry's cloak into chairs. Severus arrived for the beginning of his shift as they were waiting.

"Why are you both out here?" he asked.

"We've been temporarily banished from the room. We've been waiting for over an hour now." Harry said grumpily.

"Why?" Severus asked, wondering what sort of procedure they could be doing in there.

"They're taking Hermione's statement." Ginny said.

"Taking Hermione's- You mean she's awake?" Severus said, flabbergasted.

"Yes, for almost two hours now. Didn't Harry tell you?" Ginny asked.

"Merlin's balls! I knew I forgot to do something." Harry said, slapping his knee. Ginny looked at him shocked, and promptly boxed his ears.

"I apologize, Professor. He was supposed to floo you. She's awake and talking some. There was a problem that wasn't noticed before though." Ginny said. Severus waited. "She has apparently sustained some nerve damage to her lower right leg. The Healer said she will be able to walk again, but she won't be able to run or play Muggle sports." Ginny explained.

"Hermione seemed unusually upset by it, but she didn't say anything." Harry added.

"I would suspect she's worried about her job." Severus responded. He growled somewhat as he was rather angry with Harry Potter.

"Her job? Why would she be worried about her job?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know much of what she does. Mind you, she hasn't told me anything, but I have noticed that there are physical demands on her. She usually runs every morning. When I asked her about it, she simply told me that maintaining a certain level of physical fitness was a requirement of her job." Severus explained.

A few minutes later, Healer Barnes opened the door again and stepped out.

"We're finished with the interview, and I think we can tailor her treatment a little more specifically now. You're welcome back inside, but we have had to give her two separate calming draughts. She's tired now, so please try not to upset her further," the Healer explained. She opened the door again to allow them entrance.

Hermione was propped into a seated position now, staring blankly at the wall ahead of her.

"Hi Hermione, you've got another guest." Harry said, leading the group into the room. Hermione turned her head to look at them.

"Hello, Severus. How is my cat?" she asked.

"He is well, though I think he misses you." Severus responded. It was always a rather odd experience to talk to someone under high doses of calming draught. It was almost as though they were incapable of any kind of emotional reaction. The end result was often a little disturbing.

"I trust someone has updated Severus on my condition?" Hermione asked. Ginny nodded her head. "Good, could someone give me some water please? I find myself suffering from thirst." Harry grabbed her cup and handed it to her. Hermione attempted to take it, but ended up dumping the cup of water all over her.

"My hands do not appear to be functioning at that level yet. Perhaps we could try again, though I may require more assistance." Hermione said, glazed. Ginny refilled the cup and held it for Hermione while she drank. When she finished, Ginny spelled Hermione's hospital gown and bedclothes dry.

"Thank you. My eyes feel very heavy now; I think I might go to sleep." Hermione said, distantly. She reclined her head against the pillows and was asleep a few minutes later.

"Well that was strange." Harry said as they watched her sleep.

"Yes, it was a bit like talking to Luna Lovegood, wasn't it?" Ginny remarked.

"It's the potions; she's been overdosed slightly. They will wear off in a few hours." Severus said.

"Well, we'll leave you to your night shift, Severus. Please don't hesitate to send word if anything happens." Harry said. They left for the night.

Severus adjusted Hermione when she woke an hour later and asked him to remove some of the pillows so she could lie back. He heard her turn on her side a half hour or so later.

He knew when the calming potions wore off because Hermione began to cry softly. He was never very good at dealing with upset people, witches especially, but he couldn't just let her cry without doing anything. He sat down on the edge of the bed behind her and started to rub her arm slowly.

Hermione rolled over, looking at him as though she had forgotten anyone was there.

"What's wrong, Hermione?" Severus asked, in his best attempt at a soothing voice.

"Severus, I'm no longer able to do my job. They're forcing me into early retirement because of my stupid leg." Hermione said bitterly. She began to cry harder. Severus handed her a handkerchief and pulled her torso off the bed so she could blow her nose and wipe her tears away.

The next thing he knew, Severus had a lilac-skinned witch crying on his shoulder and he was patting the back of her bushy brown head.


	15. Chapter 15

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 15

Severus didn't tell the others about Hermione having lost her job. That was up to her how and when she wanted them to find out; she hadn't specifically asked him to tell them.

Since Hermione was conscious, they reworked the company schedule. She said she really preferred to be left alone at night so she could rest, so they divided the remaining hours of the day. Snape sat with her for four hours in the late afternoon and had dinner with her before returning home. He kept her apprised of the news at home. Basil and Henry sent their condolences that she was ill, though neither of them seemed irked that they couldn't visit her in the hospital. Holmes was having separation issues. He sat on or near Severus every time he was home. He had even taken to sleeping in Severus' bed at night. Hermione explained that Holmes usually slept with her. The work on his house was nearly complete.

He also brought her reading materials every day. She preferred his taste in periodicals and research studies to Harry's Quidditch magazines and Defense strategy books or Ginny's knitting magazines and fluffy romances (though she did indulge in one of those occasionally). Hermione limited her approved guest list to himself and the Potters, saying that she would see no one else while she was in the hospital.

Within a week, Hermione started having stints in the exercise room daily to strengthen her legs again. There wasn't much room in her private room for walking and loitering in the corridors was strictly forbidden. Her walking sessions usually happened in the late morning, at the beginning of Ginny's visit, so neither Severus nor Harry had seen her walk. Ginny said she was getting much better at it, and had graduated from supportive braces to a walker. Hermione said it was kind of like walking when your foot was asleep- it could be done, but it felt very different.

The only thing that was blocking Hermione's full recovery was her own boredom. Other than her 30 minutes a day of walking, she spent the other 23 and a half hours confined to her bed. She was often irritable. She had lost weight, wasn't sleeping, and almost never smiled.

Severus came a few minutes late one evening and entered to find Hermione standing at the end of her bed, stuffing things into a small duffel bag.

"Hermione, what are you doing?" he asked, not having seen her out of bed before.

"We're leaving." she said simply, continuing to pack items from the bureau into her bag. Severus noted that she was also wearing her walking shoes. A cane was propped on the side of the bed. "I'm sick and tired of being here, Severus. I want to go home."

"How are you going to do that?" he asked.

"I was hoping I could talk you into letting me side-along. And maybe staying with me for another week or two?" she said, stopping the packing and looking hopefully at him.

"Why didn't you do this when Harry was here, or Ginny? Why me?" he asked, feeling a bit put out.

"Quite simply, escaping during your shift is the easiest. I can walk, but I'm not going to win any speed races. You're mean and scary enough that they might just leave me alone. Also, I can sense how much you hate hospitals; you're almost as anxious to get out of here as I am."

"Can you check yourself out?" he asked.

"Yes. I coerced Neville into bringing me some literature on hospital policies- told him I was thinking about a career change. I'm fully ambulatory and no longer on any medication other than the pain relievers that I may take for years. I am fully within my rights to leave this place."

"Okay." he responded simply, nodding. Hermione smiled for the first time since she'd regained consciousness. She finished packing her bag and handed it to him.

"I don't have a wand. Would you take care of that for me?" she asked. Severus shrunk the bag and put it in his pants pocket. Hermione picked up her cane.

"Let's go." she said making her way slowly out of the room. She was right, she wasn't going to win any speed contests, but she only walked with a slight limp. Severus supposed she was walking very well for what she'd been through. He followed dutifully, sneering and glaring at all the medical staff they passed. Hermione walked right up to the desk.

"Yes?" the witch asked.

"Patient 11 is leaving and would like the return of her wand, please." Hermione said stiffly.

"I do not have any discharge papers for patient 11." the witch replied.

"And yet, I'm leaving anyway. My wand, please. If I must ask you again it will not be in a friendly sort of way." Hermione said. Her hand gripped the cane hard.

"I'm afraid we cannot allow you to leave without discharge papers. If you'd please just go back to your room I can send a Healer in." the witch said.

"I will not go back to my room!" Hermione shouted. Several of the hospital employees stopped what they were doing to watch the outburst. "I am discharging my self per hospital policy article 7 paragraph 12 subsection d. No give me my wand." she growled dangerously, stamping her cane on the floor.

"Please, there's no reason to get angry." the witch said. Severus leaned in beside Hermione and addressed the witch.

"I suggest you return the wand immediately. My friend's patience is nearly gone, and my own is wearing thin. You do not want to make us angry." Severus warned, narrowing his eyes.

"Okay, well, I'll just have to have your signature on these forms saying you left against medical advice." the witch said, digging through a filing cabinet and pulling out a paper.

"Wand first, please, then I'll sign anything you want." Hermione said, calming herself.

Two minutes later, Hermione was walking to the Apparation point brandishing her wand in her free hand, a triumphant look upon her face. She reached the point and turned back to Severus.

"Okay, let's go home." she said, smiling at him. Severus place himself on her right side and she grabbed on for side-along.

"This isn't going to work." he said, looking at their stance.

"What do you mean?" she asked, concerned.

"Your legs are going to crumple as soon as we hit sidewalk." he said. He could see her exhaustion growing. Severus stuffed a little more into his pockets so that his arms were free. He took Hermione's cane and shrunk it, gaining an indignant growl from her. He then scooped her up in one smooth motion. It was shockingly easier than when he had lifted her a few weeks prior. He tightened his hold around her back and knees. "Wrap your arms around my shoulders and hold on." he said. As soon as she had a good grip, he apparated.

They reappeared on the sidewalk directly in front of Hermione's house. She had to admit to herself that he was right. She had forgotten how rocky it could be and couldn't be assured of having kept her legs underneath her. Severus gingerly planted her on the sidewalk beside him and handed her her cane, restored to it's original size. Hermione carefully climbed the few steps onto her porch and entered her house.

****

It was another week before Hermione felt comfortable walking without the cane. She was gradually lengthening her stride again, though. While Hermione didn't often leave the property, she much preferred recovering at home. She slept in her own bed at night, with her cat curled up beside her. She spent the day sitting in the living room, reading in the library, or enjoying the sun on the back porch. Severus stayed with her and did most of the cooking until she was well enough to help.

Shortly into August, Hermione began to become melancholy again. She was fast approaching as well as she would ever get. The fact that she had no job was starting to bother her.

One afternoon, they were visited by none other than Minerva McGonagall. Word had gotten after Hermione returned home and she had many visitors, so seeing Minerva was not too odd. Hermione presumed Severus had told her.

"Good afternoon, Hermione. You are looking well." Minerva said as she joined Hermione in the living room. Hermione was at that moment, resting in her favorite armchair with a warm cat in her lap and a panther lying on the floor at her feet. Doro got up to greet the Headmistress as she took a seat on the couch.

"Thank you, Minerva. My convalescence has given me a much-needed chance to catch up on sleep. I daresay I'll have to do more though in a few weeks when Severus leaves for Hogwarts. He's spent almost no time at his own house this summer, but he had been a great friend to me." Hermione said. Severus was currently relaxing in the backyard.

"Well, I didn't come just to check on you, I wanted to ask you something." Minerva said. Hermione's interests were piqued.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Well, Severus told me that you were unable to continue with your position at the Ministry after your accident. I was wondering if I could possibly talk you into coming to Hogwarts. You see, Filius Flitwick is retiring, and I need to find someone to teach Charms in September. Would you be interested in returning to Hogwarts?"

Hermione grinned broadly. "I would love to teach at Hogwarts. I would have asked, but I didn't think there were any openings!"

"Well then, we shall put you on staff. I'll have rooms prepared for you within the week, and you can move in whenever you like, prior to the 30th of August. While we're at it, I'm also in need of a new Head of Gryffindor House. I'm sure they would be honored to have you, if you're interested." Minerva said.

"Yes, yes! A thousand times yes!" Hermione said, bouncing in her seat a little. Holmes scurried out of her lap for the much safer territory on the back of the chair.

Minerva spent the next half an hour or so briefing her about the changes that had occurred since she'd been to Hogwarts and the responsibilities of a staff member there. Hermione listened excitedly. After the Headmistress excused herself, Hermione started a list of everything she needed to do before she was ready to move to Hogwarts.

When Severus came in from the yard, Hermione was standing in the middle of the library directing the books that were flying off the shelves into boxes. She was also loading a box of items from her desk. This explained why Doro and Holmes were on the stairs looking thoroughly terrorized.

"What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing, witch?" Severus yelled over the cacophony.

"Packing! I got a job today!" she yelled back delightedly.

"Where?" he asked.

"At Hogwarts, teaching Charms!" she replied. The last of the books fell into place. "Isn't it exciting?"

"Yes, but you're going to wear yourself out at this rate. Slow down. You're not moving tomorrow," he said. "Besides, you've utterly terrified the cats."

AN- I hope you liked it! I'm attending a conference this week (grown-up stuff, yuck), so there may not be another update until the end of the week. Read, review, and I hope this tides you over until I get a chance to post again.


	16. Chapter 16

AN: Thanks everyone for being so patient. My conference is over now, so I decided to post this chapter this afternoon. It's time to start preparing for school again, so updates may be less frequent. I'll also be trying to wrap this story up before I go back to working heinous hours at the end of August.

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 16

Hermione spent the next week furiously preparing to go to Hogwarts. It turns out that something like this was just the push she needed to get back on track. She felt better than she had in weeks, knowing that she had work to do and things to prepare for.

One day, Hermione and Ginny went to Madam Malkins to buy Hermione some new robes. She would need a larger supply of medium quality robes now, as well as new dress robes. She bough several pairs of plain black robes, though some of them had a red silk lining. She bought more conservative dress robes, as the ones she had were from her university days and a bit more provocative than she felt appropriate for Hogwarts functions. She also bought a rather ridiculous hat that seemed like a good idea at the time. It would probably never be worn unless there was some sort of costume party.

Severus was very helpful when it came to packing. She did most of the work, but he was around to answer questions and do any heavy lifting, of which there wasn't much. He was also doing his own packing, having decided that he might as well return to the castle when she was.

The two had struck an odd sort of friendship over the summer. Hermione found that she really enjoyed his company sometimes, and Severus found that she wasn't nearly as annoying as she was in her school days. Above all, they both possessed the ability to make each other laugh. Severus reflected that, short of Lily, Hermione was closer to him than any other person had been.

Severus told her that the easiest way for them to get to Hogwarts was to Floo to Hogsmeade, though the cats would hate it immensely. The Hogwarts Express only ran for students, and it was very difficult and dangerous to Apparate with an animal.

On the day in question, Hermione shrunk all the boxes and furniture she had decided to take and placed them in a small drawstring bag, which was then tied to the belt on her robe. She coaxed Holmes into a small crate with only minor difficulties. She met Severus outside. He too had a small bag of clothing, books, and furniture tied to his belt and carried a small cage.

"Surely Dorothea doesn't fit in there?" Hermione gasped, pointing at the cage.

"She does once you shrink her down a bit. She really hates it, which is why I only do it twice a year. She'll forgive me that often." he replied. The cage shook and gave a mighty roar, worthy of a full-sized Doro. Hermione was grateful that Holmes was calm at least for now. They walked to a pub down the street where they could Floo to The Three Broomsticks. Holmes meowed piteously when his cage swayed as Hermione walked. She had brought her walking stick with her just in case she needed it for the walk from Hogsmeade. She could walk quite well now, but still had some problems walking long distances. She transfigured her old witch style cane into a more stylish yet still effective cherry walking stick.

Severus personally thought her walking stick very funny and constantly compared her to Mad-Eye Moody. She would then threaten to whack him across the knees with it should he compare her to the deceased paranoid Auror again.

Hermione was not personally a fan of travel by Floo as it was just dirty, but she liked it a damn sight more than the cats did. They howled, hissed, and spat all the way to the gates of Hogwarts. Fortunately, Hermione was spared the walk to Hogwarts because Severus had thought to write ahead to Minerva. There was a thestral-drawn carriage waiting for them just inside the gate. Minerva was waiting for them at the door.

Severus nodded at the two witches and headed off to his dungeon lair while Minerva escorted Hermione up the stairs to her own suite near the Gryffindor common room. As a Head of House, Hermione was granted larger quarters that the average staff member. She had a much larger living area than the average staff member. Her bedroom window looked out toward the lake. The whole apartment was blank. Beige walls, plain, wooden floors, and basic furniture. This is what all Hogwarts apartments looked like without any personal flourish. She could redecorate magically however she saw fit. Minerva briefed her on the meal schedule and told her there was a Head of House meeting on Thursday and a full staff meeting Friday.

Hermione spent the better part of the afternoon decorating her chambers. The ease of decorating and redecorating was one of her favorite parts of being a magical adult. She could redecorate the room every day if she saw fit. For now, she kept the whole apartment in relaxing earth tones with padded but stiff furniture. Her days of curling up in a puffy armchair were gone, for now she'd never manage to get out. She magically unpacked all of her belongings while still leaving Holmes in his cage to calm down. It took only a few minutes to unpack everything she brought. Hermione finally let Holmes out of the cage before she headed off to investigate her office and classroom.

Before walking away, Hermione turned to the portrait of two young girls that marked her door.

"Have you chosen a password?" the one on the right asked.

"Yes, finnimbrun" Hermione responded.

"Excellent choice, madam." the one on the left said. Hermione nodded and walked off toward the Charms classroom, bringing along her remaining items in the small bag and her walking stick.

Within about two hours, Hermione returned from decorating her office and classroom to find Severus chatting with the portrait.

"Good afternoon, Severus." she said cheerily, trekking down the corridor with only a slight limp.

"Good afternoon, Hermione. I was going to come check on you, but I realized I did not know your password." he said.

"Finnimbrun." Hermione said. The portrait swung open and they walked inside. Holmes was sitting on a chair grooming himself furiously. He left the room when they entered. "I'm afraid he's still rather peeved with me." Hermione said.

"He'll get over it soon enough. Doro isn't exactly the president of my fan club either right now." Severus remarked. He sat down on her sofa, which was surprisingly solid considering how soft it looked. He gave Hermione a questioning look as she lowered herself carefully onto a chair.

"Well I couldn't exactly be calling for help all the time to get off of my furniture now could I." she said snarkily. Severus chuckled at her.

"I'm beginning to think I've rubbed off on you a little too much. The students aren't going to know what hit them with smiling Filius replaced by you." he chortled.

The rest of the week was spent planning lessons, settling in, and refamiliarizing herself with the castle and its occupants. Many of the teachers were the same, but there were a few new names and faces to learn. Fortunately, she and Severus were among the first to arrive, so she had plenty of time to chat at lunch and dinner each day.

Hermione took to relearning the castle in segments. She couldn't walk more than a couple floors or a tower at a time before she needed a rest. It made her a little worried about night patrols. She just wasn't able to prowl the corridors like Severus, and she wouldn't be able to walk anywhere for more than an hour or so. She brought up the issue when she was visiting Severus in his quarters. She sunk far down into his sofa, so she was stuck until he decided to help her up. Hermione started to make mental notes of which professors liked soft furniture so she'd know when she needed to conjure up a block of wood to sit on.

"How am I supposed to do my share of the night patrols? I was thinking the other day about it; I can't walk more than a tower before I really need to sit for a while. Walking for hours is just going to be more than I can handle." Hermione said. Severus thought for a moment before answering.

"What about a broom?" he suggested.

"A broom?"

"Yes, we could borrow my broom. You could ride it through the corridors when you have duty. It would allow you to cover more ground than the rest of us could, and you'd be nearly silent. I know brooms scare you, but this would be slow and quite close to the ground. We could try it tomorrow if you'd like." he elaborated.

"I don't know. The idea sounds alright, but it has been a long time since I've been on a broom." Hermione wavered.

"We could do it here in the dungeons. No one is ever down here, so it would be just the two of us trying to figure out how to make it work."

"Okay, but we've got to do it in the morning. I'll need a while for my bumps and bruises to heal before the Head of House meeting tomorrow night."

The next morning after breakfast, Hermione and Severus snuck down into the dungeons for their little experiment. Hermione hadn't breathed a word of it to anyone, and most of them found Severus to be exceedingly grumpy. Severus had tried it the night before, just to make sure it worked. Everything was fine. The coursework going up a tower was a little tricky, but Hermione could always walk the towers if she wanted to.

Hermione mounted the broom that hovered about three feet off the ground. It wasn't easy even to get on the broom. Severus offered her a hand, but she turned him down. If this was going to work, she had to be able to get on and off the broom without assistance. What Hermione did find helpful was bracing against a wall, which she deemed okay since there were walls all over the castle. She was quite comfortable swooping around the corridors, even turning around, but she wasn't up for the challenge of climbing a tower just yet. They practiced for a couple of hours before returning to their separate endeavors. He to pick up a supply of Potions ingredients that had recently been filled at the apothecary and she to organize the supply of manipulatives, which she had been horrified to find all jumbled in one box. She had a solid afternoon of sorting feathers, blocks, beads, and other small objects ahead of her.

After dinner was a meeting with the four Heads of House and Minerva. Hermione was the new Head of Gryffindor House, while Severus maintained order for the Slytherins. Pomona Sprout was still on hand as the Hufflepuff Head of House. The Transfiguration teacher, Gustavo Reyes, also known as Gus, supervised the Ravenclaws. They reviewed the beginning of the year procedures and forms. Hermione had to do an inspection of the Gryffindor dormitories before the full staff meeting the following day. She also had to find time to address the Gryffindor first years after the welcoming feast. Severus suggested cornering them all inside the common room after the feast. The prefects could be trusted to hold them their while she arrived. Other than that the meeting was rather tedious, but it was nothing compared to the monstrosity that she would endure the next day.


	17. Chapter 17

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 17

Hermione soon learned why Severus considered staff meetings to be the nearest approximation to hell he'd ever endured. The material was immensely boring and the discussion was tedious. Hermione wanted to take a wand to her head when Minerva reminded them all that students were not allowed in the Forbidden Forest and several of the professors looked surprised. She looked around for Severus only to find him sitting quietly in the darkest corner of the room looking quite relaxed and tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair.

The meeting went on for hours as they reviewed everything from school rules to how to read the schedule for security details and to whom student misbehavior is reported. Most professors did not have the clearance to send wrongdoers any higher than their head of house. Only heads of house could bring regular student misconduct to Minerva's attention. The one-way pass to the Headmistress' office was only for those whose misdeeds had caused serious harm to a teacher or another student.

After what seemed like an eternity, they were released from the meeting. Hermione cornered Severus in the corridor, pulling him into an alcove as he walked by.

"What were you doing in there?" she demanded.

"Whatever do you mean? I was attending a staff meeting." he replied evilly.

"Don't try to pull that with me. What were you really doing?" she frowned. Severus gave a small flick of his wand and suddenly Hermione's ears were filled with music.

"Hermione, there is something you must learn if you are to keep your sanity here. While you physical presence is required at all staff meetings, your brain is better left at home." Severus said, slipping back out into the corridor and retreating to the solitude of his dungeons. Hermione resisted the urge to laugh as she ended the spell; it was brilliance. The music allowed her the appearance of paying attention while diverting her from the horrors of the meeting. She would also be able to adjust the volume should it appear that something interesting is about to happen.

September 1st was a busy day in the castle. They had to finish all preparations for the arrival of the students. The Great Hall had to be re-outfitted for the year, as the house tables had been temporarily stored and the staff table moved to the center with chairs all around. The suits of armor had to be shined. House portraits had to be given passwords. The elves were busy preparing a feast while the Sorting hat finished its poem. All of the professors were choosing their garments for the feast and practicing their glares for mischievous students.

Hermione had the last hour before the students arrived free. She had already spoken with the elves regarding the moving of Gryffindor student belongings into the dormitories. She did not have anything pressing to be done until she was needed in the Great Hall later that evening. It was a good thing, as Hermione was rather nervous for the beginning of the year.

It took her over an hour to choose her clothing for her first welcoming feast. She wore a classic black dress with a red-silk lined black robe. She twisted her hair up into a bun with tendrils down the sides. She donned her favorite black leather pumps and her mother's pearls for comfort. The overall effect, she chuckled, was rather like a female Snape. Her robe cinched around her waist to be a bit more form-fitting than anything he would wear, but other than that and the splash of color she looked very much like him.

Hermione was attempting to read in her living room when Severus entered. Hermione almost laughed aloud for how correct she had been. Severus wore the same type of clothing he wore for every welcoming feast- head to toe black. The items themselves had to be new though, for they were all a very dark black without a hint of fading.

"I expected to find you a nervous wreck, a quivering pile of femininity somewhere in the apartment." Severus remarked snidely.

"Sorry to disappoint." Hermione returned, matching his intonation. The two relaxed in Hermione's living room until the charm went off that warned them of the arrival of the Hogwarts Express. That was their cue that it was time to start to the Great Hall. Hermione grabbed her walking stick.

"Do you really need that tonight? You can always summon it later." Severus said.

"I don't really need it, but I want the students to see it a couple of times so they get used to it. I don't want them to be shocked if they see me when I do need it." Hermione explained. Severus nodded, and they headed out the door.

By the time they were walking through the staff entrance to the Great Hall, they could hear the first of the student carriages arriving at the doors. As Heads of House, they were reserved two seats near the Headmistress. Finding someone willing to sit beside Severus was always a challenge, so they were left the two seats to the right of Minerva's larger chair. Severus took the innermost seat, leaving Hermione next to a relieved looking Aurora Vector, the Arithmancy instructor.

Turning the excitement she felt into the look of vague disinterest she displayed was rather good practice for the classroom, she felt. The older students filed into the room and took seats at their house tables, typically leaving the first few seats for the new first years. Hermione had sent word to the Prefects on the train that she wanted to address the entire house in the common room after the feast. This was a decision she made after learning that Gryffindor hadn't really had an official Head of House in several years, as there were no former Gryffindors who wanted to position. As a result, they suffered from a disorganization that resulted in record low Quidditch results and bottom of the barrel rankings for the house cup. Rather than just the first years, she really needed to speak with everyone.

Watching the Sorting from the teacher's perspective was a rather interesting experience. Pomona Sprout had a softer hand with the little ones, but they still looked as though they might wet themselves at any moment. She found that Severus had quite a knack for guessing the house each student would be sorted into. She clapped for each student though with a little more gusto for new Gryffindors.

Minerva stood to welcome them all briefly before the food arrived. It was better than she even remembered Hogwarts food being. Hermione resisted the urge to stuff herself, reminding herself of the many delicious meals in her future. After dessert was cleared, Minerva stood once again to give her longer address.

"Now that your stomachs are filled, it is time to remind you of the rules. The Forbidden Forest is off-limits to students without the presence of a professor. Mr. Filch has a list of all banned items in his office. Please check with him to be sure you have not brought anything you ought not to have brought. House Quidditch trials will be posted in your common rooms within two weeks time, as will a listing of scheduled Hogsmeade visits for those third year and above. We have one new staff member to welcome. Professor Hermione Granger will be teaching Charms. She will also be serving as Head of Gryffindor House. Please welcome Professor Granger." Minerva said. There was a smattering of applause to which Hermione inclined her head. "With all that said, I'm sure you want to rest up for your first day of classes tomorrow, so you are dismissed to your Houses. First years, please wait for direction from your house prefects." Minerva said. She turned her back and the hall erupted with activity. The older students hastened off to their common rooms while the prefects and Head Boy and Girl wrangled their small crowds of nervous first years. Hermione caught a glimpse of Henry Pattington in the crowds and noted happily that he was a Hufflepuff.

As the hall cleared, Hermione began to make her way to the Gryffindor common room. She took the normal route with none of the shortcuts, following he path that the first years had been led through only minutes before.

She opened the portrait hole to hear the students chattering and one yelling above the others.

"I told you. Professor Granger wants to address the House tonight, so you're just going to have to wait for her. We just got here with the first years so quit your whining. I'm sure she'll be here soon!" one of the prefects yelled.

"Yes, I feel that my arrival is imminent." Hermione said, stepping through the porthole. The room was suddenly very quiet. Hermione walked to a small table, lowered it to the ground magically, stepped on it, and raised it so that she could see everyone.

"Good evening, everyone. I recognize that this is rather unorthodox, and I assure you I do not wish to make it a habit. Since learning of Gryffindor's fate the last few years, however, I felt that a full House address was necessary. I will not keep you long from your friends and your beds." she began. Hermione took a deep breath. She'd only slightly planned out what she wanted to say to them

"In my days as a proud member of Gryffindor House, we had something to be proud of. We won the Quidditch cup several times as well as the House Cup. Your rankings in the last few years have been some of the lowest in Gryffindor history. At this moment, that is all changed. Who is the Quidditch captain?" she asked. A seventh year near the back raised his hand. "Name?"

"Heathertow, ma'am. Xavier Heathertow." the boy replied, attempting a show of bravado.

"Well, Mr. Heathertow. I expect to see you in my office within the week with a plan for a successful Quidditch season. As for the rest of you- no serious disciplinary infractions! I recognize that some amount of mischief is required for growing up here, but those sent to me will suffer the consequences. I will be the only one removing mass points from my own house. Study for your classes and speak up to earn points for Gryffindor. Be caught doing good things in the corridors, not sneaking about after curfew. It is time for you to contribute to the pride of being a member of Gryffindor House. Now, on that I will leave you. Please remember that as your Head of House I am both your mother and your father. I wield punishments, distribute rewards, and serve as counsel if needed. Do not hesitate to come to me before a situation gets ugly. Goodnight, everyone." she finished. She lowered the table again and stepped off, returning it to normal height. She closed the portrait hole finding it interesting that she had still heard no noise of students moving off to bed.

Before long Hermione was in bed herself, hoping she would never know what sound she would hear if there were trouble in the Gryffindor common room. It had been a long day with another long day ahead for the new Charms professor, but sleep did not come easily.


	18. Chapter 18

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 18

AN- I'm going to spend a few chapters on Hermione's first few days of school, then I'm going to start jumping ahead. We all know that school is just a different kind of monotonous no matter what your role is in the building.

Hermione woke early on the first day of school. Holmes got up with her, though he wasn't exactly happy about it. He just wanted food and some attention before she left. Hermione went to her classroom before breakfast to set up for her first lesson- 2nd year Ravenclaw Gryffindor. After that she had a first year class (Slytherin- Hufflepuff), a fourth year (Hufflepuff- Ravenclaw), and a seventh year class. It was going to be a long day.

Breakfast was a rowdy affair on the first day. She had to eat quickly so she could pass out Gryffindor timetables. It was rather fortunate that she wasn't hungry. She distributed all the necessary paperwork, noting that her house seemed a little more subdued than the others. Most of the students said thank you after she gave them a schedule as well, which was a pleasant surprise. She had time to sit again and drink a little more coffee before it was time to head to class.

"What did you do to them?" Severus asked, inclining his head to the Gryffindors. They were all dressed neatly and behaving almost as well as the Ravenclaws.

"Nothing. I just told them it was time to start having a little pride in the fact that they are Gryffindors. It's time that they start at least making a showing for Quidditch games and have a chance at the House Cup. I mean, we were able to do those things when I was a student and we had the Weasley twins!" Hermione said.

"Not to mention the 'Golden Trio' with all of your misadventures." Severus snarled. He gave the room a passing glare.

"Well, I'll grant you that Harry and Ron were known to get into trouble and lose us lots of points, but they weren't all bad." Hermione said, smiling.

Some of the students were shocked to note that the new Charms professor had made the mistake of sitting next to the grumpy Potions Master again. To top it off, it looked like the two were conversing. She even looked nearly happy, quite far from terror-stricken. Most of the other teachers gave Professor Snape a wide berth. She must be exceedingly brave.

When the students headed back to their rooms to retrieve the proper books and supplies for the morning, Hermione headed to her classroom. Before long, the second years had begun to file into the room. They dutifully took seats, each house taking one side of the room. They each carried with them some parchment, quills, ink, and a copy of The Standard Book of Spells-Grade 2. When everyone was seated, Hermione began her lesson.

"Good morning, class. My name is Professor Granger, and I am your new Charms professor. Professor Flitwick left a list of spells that you should have mastered last year, so we'll review while I take roll." Hermione said. She pulled a stuffed bear from the charmable items cabinet and locked it inside the box on her desk.

"Roger Abalone. Where is Mr. Abalone?" Hermione asked. A Ravenclaw boy near the front raised his hand. "Ah, there you are. Please unlock this box." The task was obediently done.

"Good. Now, Miss Babcock will lift this bear into the air and float it once around the room." Hermione said. A Gryffindor gladly completed the task. They continued this way through the whole class period, reviewing the Charms they all knew fairly well but hadn't been able to practice all summer. Only a few times were someone's wand movements off or intonation imperfect. This resulted in the near death of the poor bear, but Hermione was able to save it. In this manner they successfully reviewed an entire year of Charms lessons in one class. It also meant that Professor Granger learned everyone's names. Eventually, it was time to go, and the class reluctantly filed out of the room.

Hermione's first year class took a little longer to get started while the students found the classroom. She entertained herself by giving them a display of Charms while playing a game. She would toss the stuffed bear as high as she could and see how many times she could spell it before it hit the ground. The students who had arrived watched, some in awe, others not. She chalked it up to bloodlines. For Muggleborns and Half-blooded witches and wizards, this might have been the most magic they'd ever seen performed at one time. For children raised in the magical world, this was just a game.

Finally the last little first year entered the room and Hermione began her lesson.

"Good morning, and welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor Granger and this is Charms class. This classroom can be a rather dangerous place to be when we are practicing magic, so it is important that you follow directions carefully and completely at all times. Now, to start out I'd like everyone to put everything away except your wands."

There was a flurry of activity as books, papers, inkwells, and quills were packed away. Suddenly she had a roomful of students looking at her eagerly and armed.

"Please set your wand on the table please. We may not use them today." she said. Several looked disappointed, but they all obeyed.

"Good, you're doing well at following directions so far. Now, your wand is one of the most powerful things a witch or wizard has. What does your wand do?" she asked. It seemed like a dumb question, but many of these children had not held a wand at all until they went to purchase one. One little Slytherin girl at the back of the room raised her hand.

"Yes, your name please?" Hermione asked, nodding at the girl.

"Hannah Demitrius, ma'am. A wand lets you do magic." she responded.

"Good answer, Ms. Demitrius. Yes, a wand lets us do magic. There is however a little more to it. How many of you have ever gotten really mad about something and accidentally made something blow up or catch on fire?" she asked. Most of the students raised their hands. Hermione raised hers as well. "That, dear students, is magic." she said. She let the idea sit with them for a moment as she walked around the room.

"It's raw and accidental magic, but it's magic all the same. You see, the magic lives inside your body. It's not inside your wand and it's not something you summon up when you want it. It's inside you all the time, every minute of every hour of every day. Does everyone understand so far?" There were no questions, and thirty sets of eyes watched her closely.

"So, if the magic lived inside of us, but we use the wand to cast spells, what does the wand do?" she asked again, pacing through the room. "Your wand helps you to focus that magic. It makes your magic more controlled and more specific. Without a wand it is difficult to do magic, especially complicated magic."

Hermione made it through the lesson talking about wands- what they're for, how they are used, how to take care of them, and where to put them. She assigned for homework the task of choosing two unsafe places to keep a wand and describing why that is an unsafe place. They had indeed not used their wands at all so far, but it was important for classroom safety that they understand their wands before they use them.

Finally the fourth years came in, taking their seats and looking at her. They were a little more noisy than the earlier classes because they were not scared and had formed friends within their classes. Much like the second years, they spent the class period reviewing charms, though they had many more to practice. Henry was in that class, so Hermione was careful not to treat him any differently than any of the other students.

Finally that class ended, and the students filed out to go to lunch. Henry stayed after for a minute.

"Hello, Professor." he said, approaching Hermione's desk.

"Hello, Henry. I suppose this is a little odd to you, now having two of your neighbors as also your teachers." Hermione said, sympathetically.

"Oh I'm used to it with Professor Snape, ma'am. I did something bad though." he confessed.

"Well?" Hermione asked, leaning back against her desk.

"You see, normally I don't tell my friends anything about Professor Snape. They don't like him much anyway, but when you were at the welcoming feast I couldn't resist telling them that I know you." Henry said.

"Well that's not so bad, Henry. That's just telling the truth." Hermione said.

"Yeah, but I also told them you were a great witch, so I'm really glad your lesson was good and you didn't make me a liar. Have a good lunch professor!" he sped through before running out the door. Hermione just shook her head in his wake.

'Sometimes, kids are a little strange.' she thought to herself before grabbing her walking stick and heading down to lunch.

Hermione was feeling a lot better at lunch and managed to eat normally.

"How's your first morning been? Killed anyone yet?" Severus asked snidely.

"My morning has been pretty good actually. And no, haven't felt the need to harm anyone yet. How has your morning been?" she asked.

"It started with a bang, and unfortunately I mean that literally. One of the third year in my first class of the day exploded a cauldron. I've had to cancel the rest of the morning to deal with the injuries and clean up the classroom. We'll try again this afternoon, though." Hermione snickered a little, earning her a sharp glance from Severus.

"I'm sorry, but it is kind of funny," she said. "I'm sure you've terrified that one class enough for the whole morning though. Were any of mine among the injured?"

"They were all Gryffindors actually," Severus said with a little grin. "I yelled a lot and pulled a round 50 points off the culprit. He had planned the cauldron explosion to disrupt the entire class. I left the punishment up to you, though."

"Hmmm. Well, you were telling me about how monotonous it is to prepare the ingredients for the first years. How would you like someone else to do that for a couple of months?" she asked. Severus grinned evilly.

"That would be quite fitting. It would probably take him an hour two or three times a week. He's a competent brewer, so I know he'd be up to the task. I'll even throw in my time berating him and scaring the daylights out of him once a week."

"Good, I'll take the other times. It will be good for me to practice disciplining students. I'll be happy to inform him of it this afternoon when I visit him and his victims in the hospital wing. Who was it anyway?"

"Marcus Wellerby." Severus said, happily dooming the boy.


	19. Chapter 19

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 19

After a hearty lunch Hermione found herself looking forward to NEWT level Charms in the afternoon. She stopped off in her office on the way to class to record the punishment she was going to give in an hour to unlucky 3rd year.

The delay in her office made Hermione slightly late to class. She was inadvertently going to make an entrance. Since she had the opportunity, she stopped to listen outside the classroom. She had 7th years from all four Houses sitting in her classroom at the moment, and all of them were waiting for her. She couldn't resist the chance to listen in.

"I can't believe we're going to be taught by _the_ Hermione Granger." one of them whispered.

"I wonder if it's true all the things that they say she did in the war?" another questioned.

"I wonder if she'll introduce us to Harry Potter?" a third asked. There were many more murmurs in the room that she wasn't able to hear.

Hermione decided she had listened long enough and headed into the classroom.

"Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to NEWT level Charms. I trust that you are all here because you have proven abilities in the field of Charms and have achieved a passing score on your OWLs." she said, turning as she reached the front of the class.

"My name, as you obviously know, is Professor Granger. I was going to delve directly into material today, but I can see that you have issues to be dealt with. Therefore, I will allow you each to ask me one question. Anything you want. I reserve the right not to answer or to tell you that your question is too general. In these instances, you will be permitted a second question. Please consider what you want to ask carefully as you will not be given this opportunity again." she said, perching comfortably on her desk and observing the class.

"What brings you to Hogwarts?" a Ravenclaw girl near the front asked.

"Good question. Name?" Hermione responded.

"Hannah Matheny." the replied.

"Well Miss Matheny, I was seriously injured in an accident that caused me to lose my prior job. The Headmistress offered me a position here." she responded. "Next question."

"What was the nature of your accident and your injuries?" a Slytherin student asked.

"Oooo, a double header. Name?"

"Joseph Wood."

"Any relation to Oliver Wood?" she asked.

"He's my uncle."

"Interesting. Well, Mr. Wood, unfortunately those are both questions that I cannot answer. Care to try again?" she asked.

They continued for almost the entire class period. The students asked about the war, about Harry, and about her. There were very few who needed a second attempt at asking a question. They finished with about ten minutes left in the lesson.

"Well, now I hope that your curiosity has been met, and we can continue with Charms from this point forward. Now, this year we will be preparing for your Charms NEWT exam. Success on this particular NEWT requires both that you can perform complex Charms and use your brain. If we have time, we'll attempt some wandless magic at the end of the year. In Defense this year you'll be learning about nonverbal spells. I must warn you that nonverbal spells will not be tolerated in this classroom. In order for us to maintain a safe environment, I need to know what spell you are attempting, as do your fellow students. Nonverbal spells give you the element of surprise, which you will not need here. Are we clear?" she lectured.

"Yes Professor Granger." they chorused.

"Then we shall progress to your first assignment. You will have an assignment to be completed following each lesson. This first one is reasonably simple. I want you to pretend that you are trapped in a cell. The walls of this cell are made of solid stone. The door is a solid block of wood with a small window at the top to let in some light. You have your wand and have completed your fifth year at Hogwarts. Using only spells that you know, escape that cell in ten minutes or less. If you make noises louder than the average wail, for instance an explosion, you will alert your captor and you will die. Write down the spell or spells that you will use to escape and bring them with you to class at the end of the week. Any questions?"

"What are we going to be doing, professor?" Gryffindor Veronica Belby asked.

"Miss Belby, that is a discussion for next class. Are there any other questions? No? Then you are dismissed." Hermione said. The class filed out, excitedly discussing how they might escape the cell.

Hermione stopped off in her office again before heading to the hospital wing. She was supposed to hold office hours for a while after class, but she had to go do Head of Gryffindor things first. She grabbed a handful of candy before rushing back out of the room.

Her low heels clicked along the corridors as Hermione reminded herself of what happened and rediscovered her anger. She arrived at the hospital wing a few minutes later and did a quick scan of the students resting there on her way back to Poppy's office.

"Knock knock." she called from the door.

"Oh Hermione, it's good to see you. Have you come to address your students?" Poppy asked.

"Unfortunately yes. I'm sorry I wasn't able to get down here sooner. Seveus didn't tell me until lunchtime, and I had to teach straight through until now. How are they doing?" she asked.

"They'll be fine, of course. Most of their injuries are minor and they'll be back off to classes tomorrow. That Wellerby boy is a menace. I hope you've got a good punishment for him." Poppy replied.

"Oh I do. Well, I'm going to go talk to the students now. Please let me know if anything changes. I feel badly that I don't know any of them yet, but their still my students." Hermione said.

"I understand, dear. Now, put your game face on and go make a new pair of boots from that boy's hide." Poppy cheered with a mischievous glint in her eye. Hermione wasn't entirely sure she was kidding. She made a lap of the injured students first, stopping to talk to them briefly and giving them candy. Finally, she reached the bed of Marcus Wellerby. The boy lying in the bed was not at all what she expected the culprit to look like. He didn't look conniving or untrustworthy, brutish or idiotic, crazed or disturbed. He just looked like a 13 year-old boy who had made a mistake. Hermione reminded herself that he still needed the punishment to keep him from ending up in a worse place or injuring more of his classmates.

"Mr. Wellerby?" she asked, rather hoping she had the wrong kid. The boy in the bed turned toward her.

"Professor Granger." he replied lowly. Hermione pulled the curtains around his bed and cast Muffliato on the space.

"Do you want to tell me what happened or should I just rely on Professor Snape's version of the events?" she asked, sitting in a chair by his bed.

"I didn't know it was going to hurt people, honest Professor. I just wanted to muck up Snape's day. He's such a grouch." Wellerby explained.

"So you did intentionally put ingredients into a cauldron that would explode." Hermione clarified. Marcus nodded, swallowing hard. "Do you have any idea how idiotic that sounds? No matter how you feel about Professor Snape, you created a dangerous situation in that classroom that resulted in yourself and other students getting hurt. Do you feel that you accomplished something this morning?"

"No Professor." he replied sullenly.

"I have a horrible punishment in store for you, and you should consider yourself lucky you're still here. If any one of those students had been serious injured or worse, killed, you would have had a one-way ticket back to Mummy and Daddy's house. You made a stupid choice that put yourself and others in danger. That is not something that I take lightly. Do you understand the gravity of what happened this morning?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am."

"Good. Now, as for the consequences of your actions, I hope you really enjoy Potions class. You're going to spend the next two months preparing ingredients for Professor Snape's classes. This is an hour of detention two or three times a week for two months. You will be watched closely during that time, and if you set so much as one toe out of line I will not hesitate to tack on a third month. Now, in addition to that you have a responsibility to those Housemates that you injured. You single-handedly ruined their first day back at school with your idiocy. You will make it up to each and every one of them. I don't know what they want or what they want you to do, but they will decide what you can do to make it up to them. I will speak to each of them tomorrow when they are released to go to their second day of classes, and I will be bringing you a list of the things that you will be doing."

"I'm sorry, Professor, for letting you down." he said as Hermione rose to leave.

"How did you let me down, Mr. Wellerby?" she asked.

"I forgot to have pride in my House. I thought it would be okay, but I was stupid. I won't do anything like this again, Professor, I promise. I want to help us win the House Cup." he said.

"I was counting on that, Mr. Wellerby." Hermione said. She reversed the charm and moved the curtains back to their original positions before walking proudly from the room.

It had been an incredibly long and eventful first day. Hermione would soon learn that this would be the norm more than the exception.

AN- I hope you're all still enjoying this. We're only three chapters from the end now. Read and Review; I love to hear what you think!


	20. Chapter 20

Just Being Neighborly

AN-This story has over 200 reviews now! I can't tell you guys how happy it makes me that I have over 200 positive reviews and no negative. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 20

The next day all of Marcus' victims were indeed out of the Hospital Wing. Hermione sent messages to all of them asking them to meet her in her office after classes that day. She would not be seeing the third years until the following day. Today she had another first year class and a fifth year class. Hermione was rather excited to meet her own troop of first years in class.

She had a much more normal appetite at breakfast time today, munching on toast and fruit with her coffee. Severus sat beside her eating eggs, bacon, kippers, and potatoes.

"I don't know how you manage to eat all that in the morning." she remarked.

"I don't know how you survive until lunch on that bird food." he retorted before taking an extra large bite and looking at her snarkily.

"Try not to blow up any of my students today, alright?" she poked back.

"What did you do to Wellerby anyway? I heard some of the dunderheads talking after dinner about how they certainly didn't want to get on your bad side." Severus said, somewhat in awe.

"Well, I gave him the two months of ingredient preparation, and I told him there would be a third month if he set another toe out of line. I also decided that he must do something to make it up to each one of the students who was trapped in the Hospital Wing yesterday as a result of his carelessness. I'm meeting with them after school to find out what they want him to do. Anything they want, within reason, will apply."

"I'll be interested to see what they choose." Severus said.

At that point it was time to head off to class. Hermione arrived at the same time as some of the first years, as today they knew which books they needed in the morning. The First Years appeared to be very excited and whispered among themselves. Apparently Professor Granger was the talk of the common room last night. Word had gotten out about her punishment of Marcus Wellerby and that her classes were interesting. The Ravenclaw first years didn't know about the Wellerby incident, but they'd heard a lot more about Charms classes. Hermione thought it was rather funny they didn't think she could hear them.

"Good morning everyone, and welcome to Charms class. This is one of the classes where you learn magical spells- charms, hexes, jinxes." she began before launching into her lecture on wands. The students listened with rapt attention for the entire lesson. Five minutes from the end, Hermione was interrupted by Argus Filch at the door. He had a Gryffindor student by the ear.

"Found him coming down from the owlry, Professor. Little bugger thought he'd skip Potions. Didn't have a note from Professor Snape, ma'am, and he never let's them out of class for nothing." Argus said. "Would you like me to have him strung up by his toes?"

"No thank you, Mr. Filch. I'll deal with this one. Thank you for bringing him to me." she said. Argus slinked off to Merlin knows where leaving Hermione with a sniveling fourth year.

"Did you honestly think you could skip class and not get caught?" she asked. The boy sniffled in response. "What's your name, Gryffindor?"

"Anthony Marquez, professor."

"Well, Mr. Marquez, your little break this morning is going to cost you some free time tonight. You've got detention with me tonight at 8 o'clock. Now make sure you manage to find your way to your next class." Hermione said. The boy sniffled again and ran off in the direction of the Gryffindor common room.

Finally it was time for lunch. Hermione found that she was beginning to treasure these breaks. Plus, it was about the only time she had been able to talk to Severus since the school year began. There just wasn't much free time in teaching. Hermione flopped tiredly into her chair in the Great Hall.

"That bad, is it?" Severus remarked, taking a bit of carrot.

"You have no idea. Oh, by the way? What potion did you do with the Gryffindor fifth years this morning?" she asked.

"Fire Protection potion. Why do you ask?" he said, raising one eyebrow to look at her quizzically.

"I trust you noticed that Mr. Marquez was absent from you class this morning. Argus found him up in the owlery. I assigned him detention for this evening. I figured it would be appropriate if he must do the potion he missed in class today." Hermione said.

"Would you please send him to me this evening?" Severus requested.

"Why do you want to take my detention?" Hermione returned.

"Marquez and I have history. This isn't the first time he's tried to get away from me. I'd like to put the fear of Merlin into that boy. I know you're basking in the glow of a terrible reputation, but you've still got a while to go before you could make that boy so anxious he'll wet himself. I would like the opportunity to end this silly charade." Severus explained.

Hermione laughed, though she was glad she was not on Severus' bad side.

The afternoon went rather smoothly until Hermione met with the victims of Wellerby's Potions fiasco. There were three of them- Amelia Rothfeld, Ross Davenport, and Agatha Marpol. Hermione saw them one at a time in her office. Ross Davenport came in first.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Davenport. I trust you know why you're here?" she said seriously as the third year sat on the other side of her desk.

"Yes, professor." he replied.

"Well then, what would you like Mr. Wellerby to do for you?" she asked.

"Well, professor. You see; it was my gurdyroot that he dropped into the cauldron. It was the only one I had." the young man stuttered.

"So you would like Mr. Wellerby to replace the ingredient unnecessarily destroyed in the accident?" she clarified.

"Yes, ma'am."

"That is quite a reasonable request, Mr. Davenport. Consider it done. Please send in Ms. Marpol." Hermione said. She wrote ' Replace Mr. Davenport's gurdyroot.' on the reparations list at her desk.

Agatha Marpol came shyly into her office and sat down.

"Ms. Marpol, have you thought of what you would like Mr. Wellerby to do for you?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, professor. We missed a lecture in History of Magic when we were in the Hospital Wing. I think Marcus should borrow Ayalet Hartwell's notes from that class and recopy them for each of us." she said.

"Interesting, yet reasonable. Any particular reason they must be Ms. Hartwell's notes?" she inquired.

"Well, Ayalet takes so many notes in every class that she almost has a verbatim account of every word said in any given class. Her notes are almost like being there." Agatha explained.

"Very well, what house is Ms. Hartwell in?"

"Slytherin House, professor."

"And I presume you wish to have a copy of the notes for each of you that missed class?"

"That would be ideal, Professor."

"Your request is added to the list. Please send in Ms Rothfeld." Hermione nodded. She added the notes to the reparations list, indicating that there were to be three copies of the notes made.

"Good afternoon, Professor." Amelia said. She was a very timid girl. She stood just inside the door and looked as though she wanted to curl into herself.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Rothfeld. Please, have a seat." Hermione said, smiling gently at the girl. Sometimes it was scary to be in a professor's office even if you weren't in trouble. The girl obediently perched in the chair. Hermione had intentionally saved her for last. Amelia Rothfeld was known for being especially timid. She was also the worst injured in the accident. She had broken her arm as she fell in addition to a host of other minor injuries.

"Have you thought about what you request, Amelia?" Hermione prodded gently. She didn't want to rush the girl, but it was nearing dinnertime.

"May I know what the others have requested?" the girl said quietly.

"Certainly. Mr. Wellerby will be replacing Mr. Davenport's gurdyroot and providing each of you with a copy of Ayalet Hartwell's notes from History of Magic class." Hermione listed.

"I have an idea, professor." she said.

"Well, what is it?" Hermione prodded again.

"I'm afraid you might think it too harsh, so I'd like a chance to explain first." Amelia said, still avoiding Hermione's gaze.

"Feel free to explain as much as you would like, Ms. Rothfeld." Hermione said.

"I'm… kind of a strange person. It takes me quite some time to mentally prepare for a change. I was prepared for the first day of classes and restarting school," the girl said, looking Hermione in the face for the first time. Hermione could tell that she was really upset. Hermione leaned forward in her chair a bit and smiled encouragingly at the child.

"Spending the day in the Hospital Wing really upset me, and it will take me a couple of days to readjust. Because of this, I have decided to request something that will temporarily upset Marcus' rhythm." The girl took a deep breath and seemed to steel herself for something. "I would like to bar Marcus Wellerby from playing in the first Quidditch match of the season."

Hermione thought for a moment. It was harsh and lenient at the same time. Losing Wellerby could hurt Gryffindor's chances of winning the first game of the season, depending on how good of a replacement player they could find. She knew from Harry and Ron how much it affected someone who was really into Quidditch not to be able to play. It would very effectively deter him from more wrongdoing. In the end, the fact that it was only one game swayed Hermione's conscience.

"Done." she said. Amelia seemed to relax. She asked to be excused, and Hermione quickly dismissed the girl.

Marcus Wellerby received his list of reparations the following day. He had no idea who had ordered what item, except that one of the girls probably wouldn't require him to replace Ross' gurdyroot. The Quidditch blow hit him hard, as did the idea of recopying Ayalet's notes three times, after he managed to get them from her in the first place. He couldn't complain though, as he knew he deserved it all.

These first few days set the slightly chaotic rhythm of Hermione's school year, at least for the first month. After a while things began to calm down as the students became more used to her, her rules, and her disciplinary procedures.


	21. Chapter 21

Just Being Neighborly- Chapter 21

AN- Okay my beloved readers, we're going to jump ahead now to the end of September. That means school has been going on for abut a month now. Enjoy! (and review!)

Hermione volunteered to chaperone the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year. She was grateful for the opportunity to briefly escape the confines of the castle. It had been a long month consisting of endless lesson planning and grading, detentions, and student and staff meetings. She had spent her few free evenings hanging out with Severus in either his quarters or hers for the few hours between evening rounds and bed. Late night guard duty was tedious and always seemed to make the following day seem worse, due to her lack of sleep. The Gryffindors seemed to be pulling things together though. There hadn't been any more major incidents. They narrowly won their first Quidditch match against Ravenclaw, and they were currently ranked second in House points.

It was a pretty fine day for a Hogsmeade visit. A cool breeze necessitated a cloak, but it was not overly cool or rainy. She had a chaperoning post starting at Hogwarts itself, making sure that only those students permitted to go left the castle with the group. Severus was posted at the front gates of Hogwarts performing a second inspection of the list before allowing them to leave grounds. The Arithmancy professor was already in Hogsmeade, awaiting the descent of students on the quite village.

Ginny Weasley was waiting for Hermione at The Three Broomsticks. Hermione had invited her dear friend that she hadn't been able to see for a month. Harry, unfortunately, was away on business, so he could not join them. When the last student had left the castle, Hermione practically skipped down the path, at least for the first few feet. After a while the skipping started to hurt, so she changed to a brisk walk.

Severus was waiting at the front gate with his own list marked of the students who had left grounds. They compared to make sure their lists were exactly the same before walking into Hogsmeade. Argus Filch was in charge of marking off the students when they returned from the village.

Hermione squealed a little when she hugged Ginny inside the pub. A few students were already there, happily drinking Butterbeers. They turned briefly to look at the professor.

"How have you been?" Hermione asked.

"I'm quite the same, it's you who is different. How is teaching at Hogwarts? Is it odd?" the redheaded woman asked.

"Not particularly. I mean, occasionally I think about all the things that we did there, but not too often any more. Our antics are helpful though because I know more secret passageways and tricks to the castle that any of the students." Hermione explained.

"We certainly got into some serious mischief there." Ginny reminisced.

The two witches spent a couple of hours in the pub just reminiscing before they decided to have a stroll around town. They were nearing the shrieking shack when Hermione felt someone grab her wrist. She whipped around to see Ron Weasley standing there, wearing a new pair of every day robes over a Muggle dress shirt and jeans. He would have looked rather dashing if he weren't such a git.

"Hermione. I missed you," he said, still holding her arm.

"Hands off, Ronald." Hermione growled.

"Oh, now calm down you two. Hermione, I forgot to tell you that Ron came back yesterday. Ron, you really shouldn't be here." Ginny prattled. Neither of them seemed to hear her.

"It's been a long time, Hermione. I thought of you every day. Did you miss me?" he asked. A crowd of students was beginning to gather, not sure what they were going to see. Professor Granger certainly did not look happy.

"Let go of me, Ronald." she said sternly, glaring at him.

"What's wrong? Why won't you talk to me?" Ron asked, wrapping his arms around Hermione's waist. Ginny stared at them wide-eyed and ran off.

"Last warning, Ron. Let me go." Hermione demanded calmly.

"What's wrong love? You used to love it when I did stuff like this." Ron whispered, moving his head to kiss her neck.

Silently and without moving, Hermione blasted Ron backward into the fence of the shrieking shack.

"I know, Ronald." she said, "I've known for a long time now."

"Known what?" Ron asked, looking nervous. Hermione advanced on him, her wand drawn now.

"About her, the Latin American slut you were cheating on me with." Hermione growled. There was a gasp from the students.

"Maria? How did you find out about Maria?" he asked, terrified now.

"I really didn't need to know her name. It was in the magazines, you idiotic git. You really are moronic sometimes. You aren't supposed to have a fiancée and a girlfriend at the same time!" Hermione shouted, firing off a series of spells around him. Ron's eyes were the size of dinner plates.

There was a bang and suddenly Harry was standing between them. He glared at Ron before running up to Hermione and hugging her.

"That's enough, Hermione. You don't really want to kill him." Harry whispered. Hermione hugged him back, practically collapsing into him. There was a murmur around the gathered students, and Harry heard his name several times. He ignored it, focusing on whispering calming things to Hermione as he watched Ginny and Severus running down the road.

"Ginny, why don't you take Hermione up to Rosemerta's. Get her cleaned up and buy her a stiff drink. I'll be up shortly." Harry said, slowly detaching himself from Hermione.

"Wait. I've got to do one more thing." Hermione said. Harry looked at her seriously.

"Give me your wand. I don't trust you with it around him." Harry said. Hermione easily handed over her wand to the taller wizard before she started walking toward Ron again. She could feel that Harry was just a couple of steps behind her.

She reached up to her neck and pulled out small gold chain. At the end of the chair was Hermione's 4-carat diamond engagement ring. She broke the chain off her neck and tossed it and the ring to Ron.

"Here's your ring. It should have been my indication that we weren't going to work. If you had really paid attention to me, you would know that's far too large and flashy for me. Goodbye, Ron." she said. Hermione silently turned and walked toward Ginny. The two witches walked somberly back up the road to The Three Broomsticks.

Harry reached down to haul Ron off the ground.

"You shouldn't have done it, mate. Do us all a favor and just leave her alone. It took a long time for her to recover from what you did. Frankly, the fact that you're my brother-in-law and one of my best mates is the only thing stopping me from taking you down right now. Go home, Ron." Harry said seriously. He stepped back and watched Ron apparate away. Severus was busy shooing away all the students.

"Come on, Snape. They're going to whisper what they want anyway, might as well let them get it out of their systems." Harry said as he passed. Severus glared at the group of students before following Harry back into town.


	22. Chapter 22

Just Being Neighborly

Chapter 22

One moment Hermione was throwing that absurd ring back in Ron's face, the next thing she new she was being guided to a small private room in the back of The Three Broomsticks by Ginny and Rosemerta. Ginny conjured a handkerchief and proceeded to start wiping at Hermione's face, much to her own protests.

"Ginny, give me that! I can do it myself." Hermione fussed, grabbing the cloth from her friend. She pulled out a pocket mirror and noted the terrible state of her appearance. Her mascara ran down her face in inky waves. She cheeks were ruddy, and her nose was red. Her eyes were red and puffy.

"I'm a wreck," she said sadly.

"It's okay Hermione. We can fix it. Let's just start by cleaning off your makeup." Ginny said gently. Hermione waved her wand in her face to wash away the ruined makeup. She washed her face at a sink in the corner. Her eyes were still puffy and red, but she was feeling a bit better. When Hermione returned to her seat at the round table in the middle of the small room.

It took a moment for her to realize that she had been in this room before. This was a private seating area Rosemerta reserved for VIP guests. She, Harry, and Ron had come here many times just after the war when they could not walk anywhere without harassment. The room was not much larger than the round 6- seat table it contained. The walls were packed red clay. There was a miniature bar in one corner by the sink where Hermione had washed her face.

Just as she got her bearings Rosemerta was back and opening a bottle of Firewhiskey. She stopped at the bar and grabbed some shot glasses.

"Compliments of the house. Sorry I can't stay girls." Rosemerta said, setting it all down on the table in front of them before bustling back out to the crowded pub. Ginny poured a shot and passed it to Hermione before pouring one for herself.

Hermione contemplated her shot before pounding it. She slid the glass back to Ginny- a silent request for a refill.

Hermione had just finished her second shot when Harry and Severus came in. Ginny poured them each a shot as they sat down at the table. Severus took a seat beside Hermione and looked at her, mildly concerned. Hermione mustered a small smile and shifted to sit nearer to him. Harry noticed all of this, but he refrained from comment. It was not the time.

"I hate to leave, but I've got to get back to work. I ran out as soon as Ginny Flooed, so my crew probably thinks the world is ending. Hermione, please don't hesitate to owl or Floo me if you need anything." Harry said.

"Thanks for coming to my rescue, Harry." Hermione said quietly, smiling at him briefly.

"Well, I think I'm going to make my exit as well, Hermione. I've got to go do some damage control at home. Any by that, I mean I'm going to go over to Mum and Dad's and kill my brother." Ginny said. "I'll Floo you tomorrow afternoon." The redheaded woman quietly walked out, leaving Hermione alone with Severus.

As soon as the door closed behind Ginny, Hermione wrapped her arms around Severus.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue." she murmured into his robe.

"You're quite welcome. I would have been there sooner, but Mrs. Potter and I didn't think it was especially safe to Apparate into a crowded area. It would be lovely if this could be your last highly dramatic scene for a while though." Severus said silkily.

"Did I really cause that much of a scene? I wasn't even aware." Hermione asked, lifting her head to look into his eyes.

"Let's just say that there were nearly a hundred students present for at least part of your assault of Ron Weasley. The pub out front is packed with people, hoping for some sign of you." Severus explained.

"I really don't want to deal with them, Severus. I just want to go back to my quarters." she said, embarrassed.

"Come with me." he said, pulling her gently from the chair. They snuck out the door for just a moment before sneaking into the kitchens. Severus led her over to the back fireplace and held out the jar of Floo powder.

"I can't just leave you in charge of all these kids." she protested weakly.

"Vector and I can handle it. You go back to your rooms and relax." he said. She took a handful of the powder and Flooed back to her chambers.

******

It was a little more work than strictly necessary, but Severus and Septima Vector managed to corral the students from the pub. Before long, the majority of the students had returned to the castle. When the last student passed, Severus closed the gates and started the walk back up to the castle.

There were two hours left before dinner when he returned. He headed straight up to McGonagall's office.

"Good afternoon, Severus. How was Hogsmeade?" Minerva asked.

"A little more dramatic than usual, Minerva. You need to know what happened there, as I'm sure there will be some repercussions." he said, taking a seat in front of her desk. He proceeded to fill the Headmistress in on all the necessary information regarding Hermione's engagement to Ron Weasley leading to the confrontation at Hogsmeade earlier.

"I was wondering what the ruckus was with the students. They came back earlier than usual and seemed quite intent on something. It seems somewhat fitting with the information that they saw a Professor nearly attack another wizard. How is Hermione?" Minerva asked.

"I haven't been to see her since returning to the castle. I was going to stop off there shortly after I finished here. She seemed reasonably composed when I last spoke to her." Severus replied.

"Well, I trust your judgment where she is concerned. She is certainly closer to you than any other staff member." the Headmistress said.

Fifteen minutes later Severus was wearing clean clothing and approaching Hermione's rooms. He was trying to decide whether he would knock or let himself in, since he did know her password. He stopped outside the portrait.

"Hello, Professor." the girl on the right said.

"Did you want to see the professor?" the girl on the left added.

"Yes actually, is she in?" he responded.

"She is, and she sat to let you in if you came around." the girl on the right answered. Without further ado, the portrait swung open and Severus walked through. He took a seat on the couch just inside her quarters. It sounded as though Hermione was in the shower. He grabbed a book from the end table and prepared to wait.

In due course, Hermione emerged from her bedroom clad in Muggle jeans and a tee-shirt. She flopped into her armchair, curling her legs underneath her.

"I was wondering if you'd stop to see me this afternoon." she said simply.

"I'm glad to see you looking more yourself. It's nearly time for dinner. I thought I might offer you an escort." he said simply.

"I suppose word will have spread by now until every student and staff member knows. I'll take you up on the escort. It might make walking into the Great Hall in front of all those questioning eyes a little less daunting." she replied, looking a little fearful.

"Now you know why I prefer to keep away from the school spotlight." Severus said, a slight playful gleam in his eyes.

"Yes. Well, I suppose I should put on a robe before dinner. I'll be right back." she said.

Hermione was not, in fact, right back. It was nearly half an hour later when she returned to the room, dressed elegantly and having reapplied all of her makeup. Severus looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"You of all people should recognize that image is half the battle." she said. Severus rose from his seat, and they walked together to the Great Hall.

Hermione spent the entire meal keeping her face trained into a relaxed expression. She had to appear as though she had everything together. And really, she pretty much did have everything together. Seeing Ron again today was the last thing she needed to do to shut the door on that part of her life. She had gotten over his having cheated on her, and she was happy with her lot in life now. She had a wonderful job and great friends. She really had learned a lot about herself in the past five months. She knew that she could get through anything.

Hermione and Severus were among the last to leave the hall that evening. They were both full from the bounty of delicious Hogwarts fare. Hermione felt physically and emotionally drained from her day. She just wanted to go to bed early.

Severus noted when Hermione finally set down her goblet with finality. He leaned over toward her slightly.

"Did I mention that this escort thing includes the return walk to your quarters if you'd like it?" he said. He knew that there would still be students wandering some of the corridors, but neither of them had night duties this evening because of their acceptance of extra duties in Hogsmeade.

"That would be great." Hermione whispered back. She pushed her chair back from the table. Severus let her get a few steps ahead before he two rose from the table. He caught up with her in an empty corridor.

"You're always there when I need you," she said simply.

"I suppose it's just the neighborly thing to do," he responded, by way of an explanation.

They didn't speak again until they were standing outside her chambers.

"I need you to do one more thing for me, Severus." she said simply. Severus looked at her and nodded.

"Stay with me tonight. I don't want to be alone." she asked. Severus nodded again and followed her into her chambers.

An hour later Severus was lying in Hermione's bed, clad in his shirt and pants from earlier with his arms wrapped around a pajama-clad Hermione who was nearly asleep. She clung to him tightly, almost desperately. When he felt her grip on him loosen, Severus knew she was asleep and finally relaxed. He looked down at her softly and pressed his lips to her forehead briefly. She didn't even stir.

"I love you, Hermione Granger." he whispered quietly. He didn't know if he'd ever have the courage to say it to her when she was awake.

"I love you too," she whispered sleepily. She snuggled her head comfortable against his chest and fell asleep.

It was the most restful night's sleep either of them had experienced in a long time.

The End.

AN- There you have it! I managed to write a Severus/Hermione romance that doesn't take either of them terribly out of character AND stays within a T rating. I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it.


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